Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

So I played The Witch’s House recently, and my writer’s urges are burning again, so I had to act. I reckon half the people on here wrote a sequel to the game, but I’ll try my hand on it, anyway. I got the general idea from seeing some commenters’ ideas on a YouTube video, so um, credits to them, I guess. But just for continuity’s sake, I’m gonna put this story in the same universe as my Gameverse Saga, but the events won’t have an impact on the series. XP Well, maybe a little bit, but no worry. Alright, let’s get to it.

Lightning flashed in the dark sky, thunder shook the earth. Viola ran, her heart racing with fear, her sandaled feet splashing the muddy forest floor with every step, her braided hair a dark soggy gold. The forest was no place for a 6-year-old girl. But it was so pretty from the outside, why couldn’t she go in? The sky was swallowed in clouds, but she ignored them, too. Now it was dark. Storming. Every flashing bolt that shone in her emerald green eyes, she thought would be her last glimpse of light. She was in so deep. Where was the exit. There was nothing. There was no one. “DADDY! DADDY, HELP ME!”

A flash, and Viola ducked under a tree. Where was her big strong father to protect her, shoot monsters with his shotgun. No, she was all alone. The heavy rain and thunder drowned her voice in the depths of the woods. As she ran, she felt like she was going into infinity, darkness, the forest that never ended. Then she flew forward when her foot hit an unseen root, her face drenched in mud.

The lightning flash lit the mass of darkness before her. Viola never would’ve seen it at first. A mansion, at least 5 stories tall, few windows lit. How far had she come. Who lived out here, deep in the darkness. Viola didn’t know, she didn’t care. At last, shelter from the impending blackness.

She threw open the house’s front door and slammed, the sounds of pounding rain grown fainter. A black cat’s green eyes gleamed in a flash of lightning before she entered, but passed it off. She gasped for breath, soaking the red carpet with the rainwater her body gathered. She wondered when the owners of this house would check the disturbance caused by their slamming door, and hoped they would show her mercy.

A gentle tune broke the silence of this home. A jingle that sounded it could be from a music box. It was coming from the second-floor walkway of the foyer, and through the darkness lit only by the candles of chandeliers, she saw someone through the railing. It was a child that appeared her age, with long violet hair with a red bow on top. She wore a white blouse under a red dress that ended above her bare legs. She glared at Viola with golden catlike eyes, holding the pink music box in her left hand. “Who’re you.” She asked tonelessly.

“M-My name’s… Viola.” The child stuttered. “I was lost in the forest, so I…”

“You picked the wrong house to go into. You do realize this is the Witch’s House, right?”

“The…The witch that kidnaps kids?” In fact, Viola heard the story from her father, but she questioned if the tales were true. That’s why her father told her not to wander in there, but she couldn’t imagine such a pretty place…

“Yes. And you’re—KUH, KUOH!” She coughed suddenly and fell backward, the music box hitting the floor. This was followed by heavy, eerie wheezes, her breath failing.

Viola gasped, and listening to her kinder nature, she ran up the stairs and by the girl’s side. “M-Miss! Are you- hu?” Her young legs were rusty, the purple veins showing, and blood-red was clear around the bulging eyes.

The sight was surprising to Viola, and sensing this fear, the girl swung her arm. Viola stared agape when a life-size toy soldier glided down the floor ahead, its gun aimed at Viola’s head. “That’s right, HUUUFF, I’m the Witch.” She spoke with her voice cracked. “Go ahead. Say it. I’m a mutant. A monster. Just like… all the others. Go ahead and run. Scream at me. Just like Mother and Father.”

“…” Viola was amazed, and a little afraid, she would admit. Would the gun go off at the pull of the trigger and blow through Viola’s head like Father’s shotgun through the wild bear. But she looked down at the wheezing girl on the floor. Those eyes looked murderous, vengeful, but her loud breaths, her discolored skin, looked so… painful. “I…I don’t think you’re a monster.”

“YOU’RE LYING.” The soldier’s gun cocked.

“N-No, I’m not, I’m not! I… You look hurt. Can I help you?”

“Sure… I let you walk away to get medicine… you come back with a knife… you just wanna kill me… because I’m a monster.”

“I…I don’t wanna kill you.” Viola calmly walked forward, her loving, sympathetic emerald eyes meeting the Witch’s gold. “You aren’t a monster, are you? You’re a… girl. I’m a girl, too.”

“A girl… who every other boy and girl screamed at. Go ahead… scream.”

“…No.” Viola understood. This witch, this girl was afraid. Because everyone else was afraid. Even if she had magic… she was hurt, sick. But Viola wouldn’t be like the others. “I’ll…I’ll take you to your medicine. Please… trust me.” She held a hand down.

The Witch was confused. She never had this kind of reaction from any of her visitors. For such a long time… children screamed… ran… died. Why would this golden-haired beauty look at her with such willing, fearless eyes. Reach out to help her, though the Witch was just a finger-flick away from killing her. It made the Witch so curious. She would play along. She reached her hand and took Viola’s. The child helped her to her painful aching feet, put the Witch’s arm around her head and helped her walk. “My medicine… is this way.”

The Witch guided Viola to the kitchen, where she retrieved a bottle of blue liquid from the table. She softly sat the Witch on the floor and handed her the bottle, watching her chug it down. Normal color slowly returned to her legs, and her pretty gold eyes lost their redness. “GUUEH, hueh…” The Witch panted, her airways clear for the time being. “Th…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Viola smiled kindly. “I knew you weren’t a monster.”

“Hm… so what are you going to do, now?”

“I…I need a place to stay until the storm leaves. Will your parents let me stay here?”

“Mother and Father died a long time ago. Why would you want to stay here. I’m a witch. Witches… kill their visitors.” Her golden eyes glowed and her hair blew in a light breeze. Viola felt an invisible energy, the plates ringing as the room shook.

“You’re not a bad witch. I don’t think you’re bad.”

“And why not?”

“Because bad people don’t say ‘Thank you.’”

“… … If I let you stay here… how do you know I won’t kill you?”

“…. Because I trust you.”

Her glow and the energy died away, and the room stopped shaking. “Trust me?”

Viola smiled and held her hand out. “I want to be your friend. I think that’s all you need.”

“My… friend?”

“Please… tell me your name.”

“…It’s Ellen.”

“Hello, Ellen. Would you like to be my friend?”

“…Yes.” The cold and dark in Ellen’s eyes was replaced with warmth and kindness. She smiled and took Viola’s hand. “I would.”

“Ready or not, here I come!” Viola came to Ellen’s house every day that week. Today was bright and sunny, a stark contrast to the storm on the night of their meeting, just like their newfound friendship. They had so much fun, bonded so well, played so many games. And how fun was it to be friends with a witch, with magical powers that could do anything, possibilities were endless.

But today, they kept it simple by playing hide-and-seek. Viola crouched inside a laundry basket of teddybears, giggling quietly to herself. It was such a big house, so Ellen would take awhile finding her. 10 minutes… 30 minutes… an hour… Ellen never found her.

Viola was getting bored, she wondered if Ellen gave up and abandoned their game. “Ellen?” she called, climbing out of her hiding spot and roaming the halls for her friend. “Hu!” She was collapsed in a hallway on the 3rd floor, moaning, wheezing, her legs rusty. “Hold on!” She picked her friend up and carried her all the way to the kitchen. She grabbed the medicine and poured it down Ellen’s throat.

“Th…Thank you.” Ellen breathed as her symptoms faded away. “Oh, by the way… I found you.” She poked Viola’s chest. The golden-haired giggled happily, only thankful she helped her friend before it was too late.

“All of these beans make something funny happen!” Ellen proclaimed, laying different-colored beans on the table. “Go on, try them!”

Viola thought carefully before eating a red bean. “BLAAAAAH!” Her throat singed as she unleashed a breath of fire. “Ack, blue one!” She quickly ate the light-blue on an impulse, sending a chill through her system. “. . . Huhuhuhuhuhu-HUHUHUHUHU-huhuhuhuhuhu!”

“Kmm, hee hee hee hee!” Ellen giggled at her friend’s silly stutters.

Viola ate the yellow one. Her face twitched, forming an extreme case of the giggles. “Huddly-HOODLY-huddily-HOODILY-cuddily-COODILY!” And what strange giggles they were.

“He he he he he he he he!” Ellen was turning red, not from sickness but delight. She never felt this much joy, her actual pain felt nonexistent.

Viola herself was delighted with seeing that happiness, so she ate a pink bean. Her face scrunched, an extreme sourness that spread to her whole body, and within seconds was the size of a mouse. _{“Aiieeeeee! I can’t reach the beans!”} She exclaimed with an adorably squeaky voice.

“Hm hm hm! Then let me help!” Ellen gave Viola a green bean, big as a large steak at her new size. Viola munched, her body filling with gases that puffed her back to normal.

“Thanks! ….” But the gases were not through, feeling them build up tremendously and ready to come out the back.

“Bathroom’s that way-”

“GREAT!” And she was off.

“‘Once upon a time, there was a rich man pulling along a cart full of treasure.’” Ellen read aloud while Viola looked over her shoulder behind the chair. “‘His cart had broken down in the woods, but there came a passing hunter and his dog. The rich man pleaded to the hunter to keep a close eye on his cart, to which the hunter agreed. The rich man went to get a new cart. Meanwhile, the hunter kept watch. Night soon fell, and the hunter grew worried for his elderly mother still at home. So the hunter told the dog to watch the cart and went home to check on his mother. When the man returned, he saw the dog on guard. So he gave the dog a reward for his master, a silver coin, to carry in his mouth. The dog ran all the way home and brought his master the coin. But the hunter flew into a rage. ‘I told you to watch the cart, and what did you do? You stole from it!’ So the master killed the dog.’ Ha ha ha ha! See, I told you it was a funny story!”

“I…I don’t like that story.” Viola told her regrettably.

“But it’s funny! It’s a story about irony.”

“It’s sad. The master left his dog to guard the cart, only to shoot him. Why couldn’t he just scold the dog for ‘stealing,’ he didn’t have to…” Viola nearly choked on her words.

“It’s just a dog, Viola, he could just get another one.”

“Can’t we do something else now?” Viola asked with a calmer tone. “I wanna get my mind off that.”

“But I was so excited to show you, it’s one of my favorite stories.”

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t like it. I know I sound like a baby, but I like stories with happy endings. If I could rewrite it, I…I would make the hunter yell at the dog for stealing, find the rich man to give the coin back, the rich man explains he gave it as a reward, and the hunter apologizes to the dog and they become friends again.”

“But that’s not as funny.”

“It’s not funny for me, okay? Please, I don’t mean anything, it just isn’t my type.”

“Well, okay.” Ellen closed the book. “Let’s go make the teddybears dance.” She told her with a kinder smile. “Get my medicine, please?”

“Okay.” Viola helped Ellen stand and led her along. It was only a small tense moment, but they passed it along by day’s end.

“Happy 13th birthday, Ellen!” Viola announced, happily presenting her friend a gift. The years had gone so quickly, it was like they knew each other forever, but Viola was 12 and Ellen 13. “I bet you’ll love it!”

Ellen took the red-wrapped box and tore it open, finding a thin book of stapled papers titled Viola’s Funny Story. “I made it myself. Read it!”

Ellen opened. The book was all pen drawings with scribbled-out mistakes and crayon-colored pictures. “‘Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in the woods. She had strange magic powers that scared every kid who came over. They all told their parents, and soon rumors of an evil witch populated the town. Mobs of men came to the house and tried to burn it down, but she used her magic to protect herself and angrily told them to leave, scaring them further. Then one day, a band of robbers invaded the town, hurting dozens of people. Hearing those screams deep in the woods, the girl flew to the town and turned all the robbers into toads, and healed everyone that was hurt. The town honored the witch and named her their hero. All of the kids made friends with her and the witch used her magic to cultivate everyone’s gardens, creating food that lasted them… for ages.’”

“Heeheehee, isn’t it funny?” Viola grinned.

“Um… I don’t get it.”

“Because everyone was afraid of the witch, but now they all love her because she’s actually a nice person. It’s ironic because the person they thought was a monster saved all of them!”

“…It’s great.” Ellen smiled kindly, closing the book. “Not my sense of humor, but I appreciate it.”

“It’s funny because it’s also true. You say everyone is afraid of you, but you’re actually a good person. I was thinking, maybe you could come with me to the town, and introduce you to my friends. I actually told them about you, that you’re really sick and that’s why you don’t come out. I thought you could tell them about your magic when you were ready. So… wanna?”

“Mmm… no, not yet. I don’t think my sickness will let me go far unless I use magic.”

“I’ll carry the medicine and carry you, too.”

“Thanks, but I’m just not ready… for outside.”

“Well… I hope you consider it. The fresh air, the sun, the singing birds… it gets lonely up here, doesn’t it? Just think of all the friends you could make. But… I won’t make you until you’re ready.”

Viola studied herself in the mirror, fixing on her dress and tying her braids, humming a merry tune. She was 13 years old and going to celebrate the 7th anniversary since hers and Ellen’s meeting. She wore leather brown boots on her feet and twirled happily in her blue dress and white pinafore. As she grabbed her brown leather bag, ready to set off, her father, a muscular man with a white sleeveless shirt, red pants, dark-blond hair and stern brown eyes, walked in. “Viola, Elizabeth said she saw you go into the forest the other day, is this true?!”

Viola sighed in exasperation. “Dad, it’s okay, my friend Ellen lives near the forest, I’m just cutting-”

“How come I never heard of this ‘Ellen’?”

“Because I thought you would overreact and get worried about me, but it’s no big-”

“Of COURSE I’m worried about you, I told you about the children that disappeared in those woods, I told you about the Witch, how long have you been going there?”

“Only a few years.”

“A few years since you came back that one time when you were six, Viola I thought I lost you back then, you’re telling me you visit that place every day?!”

“Not EVERY day, Dad-”

“I don’t care, I’m skeptical about that place and I don’t think you should visit this friend.”

“WHY NOT? Dad, I don’t know where these rumors came from, but there’s no ‘Witch’, there’s just Ellen, and she’s a really kind person.”

“Where do you think your mother went? I didn’t wanna tell you this, but when you were two, we were short on money caring for you, so she went into the forest for fruit and never came back. Now I have to brave that place MYSELF every day for a decent meal, but I won’t have you risking your-”

“Or MAYBE Mom ran away because she was SICK of your paranoia and overbearing attitude, but I’m 13 years old and I don’t need anyone telling me who my friends should be!”

“I’m not being paranoid, children HAVE gone missing and sooner or later, you’ll-”

“Just forget it, there IS no witch, and if I’m really so hard to raise, I should just stay at ELLEN’S, you can eat meat by yourself!” And she stomped around her father, pushed open the door to their log cabin, and was off to the woods.

“Viola, COME BACK!” She didn’t listen and started running, tears flying behind her. She didn’t look back at all, but her father had stopped chasing by the time she was halfway to Ellen’s home. Guilt already plagued her heart. Viola’s father did work hard to hunt food for both of them, he raised Viola on his own after Mom left. But she was too upset at the moment, she needed time for both of them to mellow out. Maybe when she came home, she would apologize and try to reason with him. She couldn’t keep Ellen’s secret much longer after this, but she hoped he would understand when she explained how she wasn’t the ‘Witch’ in the rumors, that Ellen was a kind person and a dear friend with an illness she was trying to help her cope through.

“ELLEN, I’M HERE.” She called after entering the mansion. “WHERE ARE YOU?”

“AAAAAAAOOOOOWW.”

Viola gasped, running around hall after hall, to find the source of the screams. Finally, she found Ellen passed out in a 4th-floor wing, her head laying in a puddle of blood she must’ve coughed out. Quickly, she lifted and carried Ellen to the kitchen, her moans and wheezes sounding the whole way, ‘til Viola grabbed the blue medicine and forced it down her throat. “GUUH, huuuu, take me to my room, quickly. I need to lie down.”

So Viola did, moving as fast as she could with Ellen over her shoulders, until they were at the witch’s room. They passed a hallway where the sun shone white through the windows, the black cat’s shadow looming in one of them. Viola raised her friend and lay her on her bed, pulling the covers over her rusty legs. She still gasped, her head felt cold, her skin pale. “The… potion… isn’t… working… like it used to. I-I feel… huff…”

“Ellen, are you-…?” Viola didn’t want to finish that sentence.

Ellen slowly calmed down, smiling feebly at Viola while she lay her head on the pillow. “Don’t worry… I’ll be fine… but I just… so painful… I-I can’t even… huff…”

“Ellen, I’m sorry. This isn’t how I wanted to spend this day.”

“I’m… just glad… you’re here… Vi… my… friend… huff.”

“Still, I wish there was something I could do. Anything.”

“Huff… huff…” Ellen stared up at the ceiling with her weak smile. “Well… there is one thing… we could… trade bodies…”

“Huh?”

“I found a… spell when I was looking up… new magic to show you. You and me… can switch bodies… But just for a day… I promise…”

“So you’d be in my body, and… I’d be in yours?”

“Y-Yes. Cough. I just wanna know… what it’s like to have a healthy body… just this once… I’m sure my body can make it… but you don’t have to… really…”

“…” It really was something to think about. Viola pitied Ellen so much because of her illness, felt painful just looking at her, she almost wondered how it felt to be in that pain. She really wanted to help Ellen, but how could she sympathize with her if she couldn’t understand her pain. “How could we do it?”

“It’s kinda hard.” Ellen spoke hoarsely. “We have to… hold each other… look each other in the eyes and say… ‘I trust you with my life.’ We can’t just say it, we have to mean it, too… it needs a strong sense of trust and agreement on both ends… that’s why it’s so tricky… because not many people… feel that way.”

Viola’s hands cupped over Ellen’s left. Her large emerald eyes shone with a beautiful radiance and trust. “Then let’s do it. I…I trust you with my life.”

Ellen was stirring with more thoughts than she could understand. She felt it in Viola’s eyes… her trust, her love. She knew the risk, but she would take it. She would trade bodies with her. Because they were friends. Yes… friends. Ellen placed her right hand over Viola’s and smiled with as much love and warmth in her golden eyes. “I trust you with my life.”

Then they closed their eyes. Ellen channeled the magic energy into their hands. The final ingredient that would seal the spell, or prove their trust false. Their hands glowed, it spread to their bodies. A light shone upon both of their chests, traveled along the arms to the other’s chest, and sank inside. The glow vanished as they let go, and Viola backed away.

Ellen opened her eyes and gasped. She stood on the floor, brown boots beyond her blue dress, her bare arms flawless, beautiful, slender. She grabbed the golden braids on either side and pulled them in front of her. She looked at the mirror to stare into her emerald green eyes, then looked at her own violet-haired body on the bed. “It…It worked. I’m in your body! Ha HA! I’m in your body! I feel so great, I can DANCE,” she flew her feet into the air, “I can SIIING, I feel like I can FLYYYY,” she jumped into the air, “and I just feel so…SO…”

“OOO-UUUUOOOO-KUEH, HUEH, hueeeehhh.” Viola coughed, for she had never been in so much pain. She was freezing under her blanket, her throat was sore and cramped, her body felt so heavy, there was a searing pain behind her eyes she desperately wanted to carve out.

“Oh- Viola, are you…” Ellen spoke with the same worried voice Viola always used for her.

Viola passed off her pain and smiled at her friend. “I’m… fine. Just… enjoy yourself. You deserve it.”

Ellen appeared to have mixed feelings. But if she could tolerate her body all this time, surely Viola could. She smiled and bowed. “Just for today. Thank you, Vi. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah… I will.”

“Okay… see you later.” And Viola watched her own body leave out the door.

Viola reached for the nightstand on her right and picked up the book of spells. To pass the time, she curiously read and studied all the spells that Ellen used or could use. It would be a delight to learn where they all came from.

“WHEEEEE, ha ha ha ha!” Ellen ran around the forest, arms outstretched like a bird in flight. This feeling of pure freedom, fresh air flowing through her clear lungs, sun shining on her lovely skin. She climbed up a tree, gripped a branch, and swung back-and-forth. She teared several apples down from the leaves and munched away, savoring the healthy flavor on her untainted taste buds. She threw off her boots and ran barefoot in the clean refreshing river, for her legs felt indestructible. She made it to a hill and rolled and rolled down, coming to a stop in a flower field below and laughing to the heavens. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

Viola didn’t care about this unbearable pain. She was so happy for her friend, so happy to hear her own laughs, give Ellen’s soul a feeling of purity and freedom. Knowing her friend was so happy made the pain passable, but being bedridden for the remainder of the day with only a spell book to read wouldn’t lead to much activity on Viola’s end. After flipping a few more pages, she put the book aside and drifted to sleep. The black cat stared from the room’s window before hopping down.

“HUUU!” Viola shot awake, horrible pain coursed through her body, clogged her throat, her eyes. She wheezed, gagged harder, any minute, she thought she would break. Hours have passed since her nap, the sun was setting outside. A blood-red light shone through the window, dimly lighting the room.

“Ha ha ha!” Ellen returned to the room, twirling joyfully. “Viola, your body is so WONDERFUL! I got to RUN, my braids flew behind me, I got to taste fruit for the first time, water is so pretty, and!…and… Viola?”

“HUUUU.” Viola sat up, holding her chest, trying to force breaths. “I-I’m… glad you’re… happy… Ellen… I’m sorry, but… I don’t know… how much more I can take.”

“I’m sorry, I should’ve given you the medicine. Hold on.” Ellen searched around the drawers of her dresser. “Here.” She turned around, presenting the bottle of blue. The blood-red light shone on Viola’s body, giving it a shade that felt odd to look at through the eyes of someone else.

“Th-Thank you.” Viola took the medicine, pulled the lid off, and guzzled away. Ellen smiled and stared as the potion flowed into her body’s lungs. “UUOOOOHH- o-o, uck, uck, ooouck. . .” A searing pain appeared in Ellen’s throat, but no matter how much Viola wanted to, the screams wouldn’t come, only chokes.

“Oops! I gave you the Throat-Burning Acid on accident. Heehee!” Ellen giggled through Viola’s teeth. “’Guess these things happen! Oh, by the way.” The sunlight bounced off something shiny into Viola’s gold eyes. Her bloodshot eyes grew wide as Ellen raised the small knife above her head, a soulless stare in her former body’s emerald eyes. “I decided to keep your body.”

There were so many words Viola wanted to get out. But all was said in her new body’s gold eyes. Ellen read them… Hurt, betrayal, fear… all gleamed in the eyes that were once hers. So many emotions, that hoarse voice that was steadily failing, Ellen could make out, “Whu-u-u-u-aaaii… whu-u-u-aaaii. . . ?”

“After all… you gave it to me. No… you trusted me with it. Because we’re ‘friends.’ Why should I have to give it back? You felt so bad for me… I couldn’t even move from my bed. …Just for a day? I guess I did say that, hehe. Good-bye… Viola. My… friend.” Her mouth stretched into a devilish grin, and Viola saw her last when the knife flew down.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHH! The scream was there, she wanted to release it, but all that came out were chokes. Ellen dug the knife into the sides of her former eyes, twisted and wiggled, until the golden catlike eyes that were once hers came out and dropped on the floor. “You won’t need these legs, anymore.” Ellen threw off the blanket and sliced the shriveling rusted legs like logs with an axe. Then she left in her brand new body, leaving Viola screaming internally, flailing her arms.

Viola was completely blind, she felt blood flowing from her eye sockets and where her legs once were. Pain, pain, all she felt this very moment was pain. Pain from the loss of her legs and eyes, pain from the incurable disease that had cursed her friend since birth, and pain in her heart that had nothing to do with the disease, the trust, the love, the friendship she had built with Ellen all these years, ending on the very tip of her knife.

She rolled off the bed onto the floor, squishing the severed eyes like balls of jelly and crawling helplessly, a trail of blood left by her severed legs. She had to stop Ellen, get her body back, for if she had gone this far, who knows what else she would do. She worried for her father, her other friends, what Ellen would do to them in Viola’s stead.

And then it hit her: Ellen’s magic, did it carry over to her body? She remembered reading a spell that could give her makeshift vision of the whole mansion and the landscape around it. She said the spell in her head, tipped her finger to her eye sockets, and Ellen’s room in all its faint aura was visible. She concentrated hard, viewing all around the mansion from just this one spot, and saw Ellen heading out of the entrance and to the forest. With the best of her strength and memory of these spells, she sent her very energy down the mansion, across the woods, past Ellen. She bewitched a rose bush into growing like a massive wall, sealing Ellen within the mansion’s grounds.

Ellen was partway through the woods when she saw a piece of paper on a bush. It said, mind if you go to her house, but just stay away from the forest. Hope to see you home soon. –Dad

She could only assume this was for Viola, but it was weird how unclear it was. Maybe there was another part laying somewhere. Oh well, thought Ellen, continuing her journey. She gasped, for her road was blocked. It seems Viola learned her own benefit to the Switching Spell: she could use her own magic against her, Ellen was powerless in Viola’s body. And to get herself free, out of these woods, she would have to go back. Retrieve the acid she created for this very instance, brave the dangers of her own house under Viola’s power. No… it was Ellen’s power. Viola was clever enough to go this far, but she doubted she had full mastery over her magic. The house would never listen to her. It was Ellen’s house until the end. And it would guide her all the way…

So it did. Trial after trial, trap after trap, Viola tried everything to keep Ellen in place so she could switch their bodies back. But to no avail. Ellen had the acid she needed, but Viola had her cornered. Ellen leapt, ran, dodged every trap and corner in her young new agile body, but Viola’s desperation was her strength, swinging her arms rapidly as she crawled, leaving the trail of blood, her pseudo-sights locked on her true body. Ellen escaped out the front door, bolted down the windy woods, and threw the acid over the rose wall to burn it down.

She found another paper. The first half of the letter.

Dear Viola,

I’m sorry for yelling at you. You’re my daughter, and I love you. That’s why I don’t want you in the forest. Regardless if there’s a witch or not, people have gone missing.

Your friend’s house is very near the forest, so… I was worried about you. Your friend’s name was Ellen, right? I don’t

Then would’ve been the second half. Ellen chuckled softly and stuffed it away as well.

Lightning flashed, for the night turned dark as 7 years ago. Viola was still chasing. Ellen turned and stared with soulless eyes. “G-Ghra……gihhh…. v-v-veeh, veeehh…”

“My, you’re persistent. You know that body won’t last. ‘Give it back’? I don’t think so. This body hurts much less.”

“Oh… could it be. Are you that worried about your father?”

“Oh, yes. You and your father. A loving family of two. These memories stayed in your body. You see mine, too… don’t you?”

Yes… Viola had them… had Ellen’s brain. Why hadn’t she seen them sooner. When she could rectify her mistake.

Ellen stabbed her parents with a knife. She trapped dozens of people within her house across the years. She killed a man with a snake. Killed a child with a giant teddybear. A pitch-black room, where a group of kids were killed by unseen hazards. Rose thorns… skulls… then Viola saw a golden-haired woman with her emerald-green eyes. Fell helplessly in the giant spider’s web… and eaten.

“He was so worried for his daughter, he sent you a letter.” Ellen held up both pieces of the letter she found just meters outside of the home. “But don’t worry. I’ll give him Viola’s share of love. And… I’ll take her share of love.”

“VIOLA!” Ellen whipped around. There stood the burly man with trembling brown eyes, shotgun clutched tight in his hands. “Viola, are you all right?!”

“Daddy!” Ellen hurriedly ran and hid behind Viola’s father. “Daddy, it’s the witch!” She cried. “It’s trying to kill me!”

DADDY, NO! IT’S ME, PLEASE! Those were the words Viola wanted to get out. Let her emotions be known with all of their force, the pain, the betrayal, the pleading look in her eyes. But no, she had no eyes. She had no voice. Only the rasping moans of a monster begging for death.

“F-fh-fhha-a-a-a-thu-u-ur. . . . dhh-hha-a-dhhi-i-i-i-i. . . . “

“St-STAY BACK, MONSTER!” The man cocked the gun, the metal glinted in the lightning flash as it locked dead on the Witch’s face.

In that moment, Viola was the dog, happily bringing the coin to his master. The master yelled, angry at the dog for stealing. The dog couldn’t tell him otherwise, because he couldn’t speak English. The gun fired, blew through the pet’s head.

DADDY, NOOOO! NO, PLEASE! PLEASE! NOOOOOO-!

The upper left of Viola’s head blew off. To seal the judgment, the lower right of her body, just under the arm. There the Witch lay. Dead. The rain washed away her spilling blood. “Siiiigh….” Her father breathed a relieved sigh. “Why don’t you ever listen to me?”

“I’m sorry, Dad. I don’t know what could’ve happened if you didn’t come.” Ellen replied with her head bowed.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. Come on… let’s go have dinner.” So Ellen politely followed her new father home. She spared one last glance at her former dead body, giggled, and kept walking. The rain subsided, and the body lay there until the next morning. Few rays of sun poked through the sea of clouds.

I…I trusted you. You were my friend… You were my friend and I trusted you. I stood up for you… cared for you… was this all our friendship was? How long were you planning this? Was I really… your friend? Ellen…. do you even… have a soul? …

For weeks, going into months, the body lay. It was strange… though so much blood had leaked away, the brain, even the heart was still working. So much energy was stored inside, keeping it alive. What was this energy… Magic… Desire… no… Hatred…

The black cat strode up to the fallen body and happily brushed his fur against it.

So the story you pretty much heard a thousand times, this chapter was just a recap of it. I’m not really staying loyal to the story in the novella, really my own take on the overall story, but it will have some points of the novella. This won’t be a major project of mine, but I do have the main points planned out, I’ll work on more when I have time. Next time, we’ll see accounts of Ellen’s life in Viola’s body, and introduction to the new conflict. Later.

Chapter Text

Welcome back to The Witch’s Ghost, Chapter 2, set after the two-year timeskip.

Viola’s House

The morning sun poked through her window. The chirping birds outside told her it was time to awaken. Viola still lay there, awake but her eyes closed, savoring the wonderful sound and serenity, not wanting to pull herself up from the warm covers and fluffy bed, her golden hair a mess. She peeped open her emerald-green eyes and viewed the picture of herself and her two friends, Elizabeth and April. The image gave the 15-year-old girl the strength to sit her body up, stretch, and yawn. She threw off the covers, took off her nightgown, and put on her favorite blue dress and white apron. She brushed her messy hair to a smoothness that sparkled in the sunlight, then tied two ends in pretty braids. She looked down and wiggled the toes on her feet, which bore the strength to walk miles after such a rejuvenating rest. Just like the day before, and many days before that, it was a wonderful day for her, Viola, to be alive.

No… she wasn’t Viola, though. She was Ellen, the former Witch of the Woods. But that life is behind her, the moment her friend gave her her body. She was under a different name, and a new life. Two years ago today was that established. Two years ago, she saw her 5-story house for the last time. Her former body, its final moments, fruitlessly trying to take back its owner, but Ellen’s determination and willpower to escape her pain was stronger. Then Viola, in her former body was shot to death by the man who is now Ellen’s father.

Ellen wasn’t sorry. She enjoyed every minute of her new life. Her father, through all of his hard shell and strict authority, fearlessly marching to the woods to slay an animal for food, was very loving to his daughter, more loving than Ellen’s former father or mother. Hm, imagine the look on his face though if he found out the truth. Ellen sometimes thought to herself with a chuckle. What would the man do, the deed had already been done, he had killed his daughter’s soul with the Witch’s body, no matter how he looks at it, Ellen was his daughter now. True, Ellen wouldn’t get the same love and care as before, but who knows, he would probably kill himself out of despair. No, Ellen wouldn’t put him through that, though. She loved her new father for giving her this home, the tasty food she could barely savor before. Maybe when he was old and on his deathbed, she would ultimately tell him the truth, let him die with no more secrets kept from him. Hehe.

Until then, she would enjoy life with him. When she entered the living room, she already found fried eggs, steak, and water waiting for her. ‘You can only start the day strong with a strong breakfast,’ he always told his daughter. She sat down and started cutting up the steak, happily enjoying the flavor on her tongue and the strength she felt course through her body after she swallowed. “Wow, Viola, you really put away the steak nowadays.” Her father, Travis said as he walked in. “Even when you were in your preteens, you hated eating meat because I had to kill an animal to make it.”

Ellen swallowed a piece and passed her father a warm smile. “Well, I learned I can’t be picky about what I eat. Besides, after that… innocent two years ago, I thought maybe I should appreciate you more. You saved my life, Dad.”

“Well, at least you’re eating healthy. It’s too bad your friend, Ellen got killed by the Witch, though. And you were just helping her deal with a disease. Can’t believe she’d prey on a little girl like that…”

When Travis walked off to answer a knock at their door, Ellen proceeded to eat her eggs. But the moment she stuck her fork in one, they bubbled, boiled, and turned blood-red like sockets without eyes. A foul odor caught her nose as the room turned red, and the melted white around the reddened eggs morphed into a face seething with rage. “Give it baaaaack. GIVE IT BAAAAAACK.”

Ellen panicked, trying to get up from her chair, but she was glued as the melted white rose up along her form, binding her as the hideous form of her former, melted body readied to take revenge. “No!” Ellen shook frantically, the melted eggs about to encase her head. “Viola! Viola, please!”

“Viola?” Ellen gasped, in a flash, the world was normal again, her fried eggs wobbling on the plate. She looked up, seeing her father beside two girls. “Your friends are here.”

“Howdy there, Viola, still eating breakfast?” A girl with tannish skin, blue overalls over a black shirt, black boots, and dark-red hair in pigtails, greeted with a country accent.

“Decided to sleep in again, huh?” a pretty girl with a flowing pink dress, long orange hair under a sunhat, and glittering blue eyes smiled happily.

Ellen smiled. “Hey, Elizabeth. April.”

“You didn’t forget about the special exhibition at the art gallery today, did you?” the orange-haired, Elizabeth asked bubbly. “Not only are they bringing another Weiss Guertena sculpture, Guertena himself is making a special appearance! He’s gonna tell us about his work and stuff, and maybe if we sit up close, he’ll think I’m so pretty that he’ll want to do a painting of me! I heard he loooooves painting women.” The girls could tell from her expression that her head was lost in clouds.

“This is what’s wrong with girls too goo-goo for art.” April said in disbelief. “Oh well, ya comin’ er what, Vio?”

“Y-Yeah. Just give me a second. Daddy, you can have my eggs if you want.”

“Steak too much for ya, huh?” Travis chuckled.

Ellen drank some water to wash down the steak, packed her hairbrush and self-defense knife in her satchel, and slipped on her leather boots before heading out the door with her friends.

Downtown New Oakland

“Oh no, it’s already past noon!” Elizabeth whined as she viewed the clock in the center of the bustling town square. “We probably already missed part of his speech. You guys are lucky I’m treating you to this!”

Ellen chuckled. It’s true Elizabeth came from a rich family, so she pretty much paid for all of their activities. April was quite the opposite and lived on a farmland, and Viola was somewhere in the middle. It made Ellen feel like the center of importance.

After shuffling through crowds of people and avoiding horse-drawn carts as they crossed town, they made it to the Oakland Art Museum, advertising Guertena’s special appearance. The museum had dozens of “lesser” artworks in Elizabeth’s view, but the only one she and many others were fascinated with was the area where Guertena was. Elizabeth gazed wonderfully at the sculpture that drew everyone else’s attention, the “Drinking in the Night” that was advertised along with Guertena: a giant tipped-over wine glass with indigo-blue liquid inside. A line connected the liquid to a cloud of night, stars, and planets, and a stream of that cloud stretched down onto the floor, serving as the other support to keep the sculpture standing.

“I have always believed that people leave a piece of their soul into the things they create.” Guertena’s voice was faint across the room, so the girls (Eliza mainly) were frantic to squeeze to the front. “Therefore, the same must be true of artwork. You hear expressions like, ‘When art pops to life’, well that is only true when the artist devotes all of their being and soul into their creation. My sole desire is for my creations to be seen as people are seen: alive, breathing, full of. .”

“Aaah!” Elizabeth screeched quietly when Ellen stepped on part of her dress touching the floor, causing it to rip when Eliza moved. “Violaaaa!” she whisper-yelled.

“Sorry!”

“I can’t meet Guertena like this! Where’s the girl’s room, I need to change quicklyyyy!” She broke from her friends and scrambled through the crowds.

“’Guess we’ll save ‘er spot.” April told Ellen as they scuffled closer to the front.

“I think it is important for all of us to find something to impart their soul into.” Guertena continued. “I am not talking about paintings or sculptures, it could be a song you wrote, food you cooked, or a friendship you made. Giving that creation part of your soul will bring it more life than ever. That is all I have to say on the matter, please enjoy the sculpture, should you have any questions-”

“WAAAAH!” April tumbled first through the front, Ellen landing on top of her. “Sorry… our friend, Elizabeth’s a really big fan.”

“So I see.” Guertena smiled witfully. Ellen got up first and helped April. “Is one of you Elizabeth?”

“No, Ah’m April, April May. You know, like the months. My mom said I was prettier than a spring flower. Hehe. This is Viola.” The blonde-haired waved.

“Those are lovely names, to be sure. You young ladies don’t desire a sneakpeek of my next sculpture, do you?”

“Weeeell no, but Eliza probly might.” April grinned. “Also, it’s only fair to warn you she’s a little loopy, so…”

Ellen glanced behind the sculpture, seeing a curious violet-haired child innocently walking up to touch it. “Don’t touch that, Dear.” Her mom quickly came up and pulled her back. Ellen stared longingly at the back of her purple hair… …The girl turned around, revealing her bloody eyeless face. The world became dark-red as she broke away from her mom, slowly approaching the braided beauty with a knife. Ellen panicked, surrounded by crowds, nowhere to run, no one else seeing her.

“STAY BACK!” Ellen grabbed her knife from her satchel and raised it, the crowd erupting with gasps as they backed away. Guertena jumped from his seat, stumbled through the rope-fence around the sculpture, and fell back as he bumped the base of the night stream. It twirled counterclockwise with only the tilted glass supporting its weight, but soon the crowds were scrambling away when it began to fall.

“HEY, single file you wildebeest, some of us just changed-!…” Elizabeth finally caught up, but before she could finish her sentence, she stared agape as the cloud of the Drinking Night fell toward her. “Oh my.”

It smashed her head first before she fell over, the cloud crushing her body. “ELIZA!” Ellen and April hurried over, rolling the sculpture over together. Her head was bleeding a little.

“Oooow… I think… my ribs…” She passed out. Ellen and April were at a near loss for breath.

Within minutes, Elizabeth was carted away to a hospital, her friends watched regrettably until the cart vanished. “Poor Lizzie… Viola, what in tarnation was wrong with you?!”

“I-I thought I saw… didn’t you see her?”

“See who?”

“The girl with purple hair that tried to touch the sculpture!”

“Oh, her? But she had brown hair; sheesh, no reason to pull a knife on her, though. Yer lucky you don’t go to jail.”

Ellen sighed with aggravation. Yeah, she was lucky the police didn’t arrest her for a mishap like that, but they were banned from the gallery and her knife was confiscated. Well, Viola’s body still had strong hands, so hopefully those would save the day if she were attacked.

This was only one of many unfortunate accidents that occurred lately. A few weeks ago, Ellen saw her former eyeless body jump out of a cup of coffee when they visited her favorite café. She fell back, knocked over a smoking man, who threw his lit lighter up the café’s sign and set the place aflame. Months before, they were riding the horses at April’s ranch, when Ellen was about to make her horse jump a short fence, the eyeless body popped up ahead, so on impulse, Ellen tugged the horse’s reins halfway over the fence and sprained its leg. That was April’s favorite horse, too. Just a year before now, they were invited to Elizabeth’s mansion to see her new scaled ice-sculpture of New Oakland – which a different artist made, but she paid a hefty amount for, and took up the width of one of her tables. The mist from the ice formed into Ellen’s former body, shivering, wide golden desperate eyes, the spirit lunged for Ellen and choked her neck. In her frantic attempt to shake her off, Ellen fell and smashed the ice city. Elizabeth didn’t talk to her for several weeks.

“I didn’t realize it ‘til now, Viola, but you’ve been pretty jumpy lately.” April said, reminiscing these moments in her own mind. “You’re like a walking bad luck train. What’s wrong with you?”

“I…I keep seeing… the Witch.” Ellen spoke with technical truth.

“The witch that killed that sick friend of yours? The one you escaped from?”

“Yeah. I… guess I’m still pretty traumatized from the event.”

“You need to visit a doctor. Or church.”

Ellen mentally scoffed at that statement. She had no reason to worship a God that cursed her with a disease. Truthfully, Ellen had no idea why she was seeing these visions. She held no regret for what she did, Viola gave her this body, Viola was now gone. She was resting in the sweet embrace of death, Ellen was living her life happy. Or happy as she tried to with these visions; she wouldn’t let them get the best of her. “Do you wanna go see how Elizabeth’s doing?” she asked.

“No offense, but… maybe you should keep away from her. For now. ‘sides, it didn’t look too bad, she’ll be outta there in no time. Wanna go down to the lake and catch some fish? Since you’ve been eating a lot o’ meat, lately.”

“Sure.”

A few miles outside of town, just off a dirt road was Lake Oakland, very quiet today with just the two of them as April and Ellen took off their boots and stepped into the shallow end. “We’re catching them barehanded?” Ellen asked.

“What, this is how Indians used to do it. Well, I guess they used spears, but this is more fun! They don’t got much room to swim around since they hide from the big fish in the shallows. Go on and catch over there, Vi.”

Ellen trudged to an opposite side from her and spotted the small fish frantically swimming away. If she still had magic, she could summon them to her, but all she had now were natural human instincts. She moved as gently as she could to make little waves, and in her mission to catch a fish, she wandered to an area of lilipads, where tiny frogs were happily hopping about. They hopped away from her path as Ellen stepped through, the waves shifting the pads aside, until one step caused the ground to rise into the air.

It was a slimy green creature, Ellen sliding down its back before rolling over and gazing with horror. The sky turned red as the venomous frog turned to face her with serpent-like eyes. Ellen crawled backwards across the shallow, muddy water, her left hand sinking into a hole and rendering her helpless long enough for the frog to inflate its throat, ready to lash its tongue and take revenge for what Ellen did to it. She desperately felt around behind her, and found a rock that was bigger than her hand. She stood, and with all her strength, threw the rock at the frog, the beast fading into mist, the world returning to normal, before the rock hit April in the back.

Ellen clamped hands over her mouth, watching April fall forward. “Owww…” The red-haired girl rolled onto her back, lifting her head to glare at Ellen. “Viola, what the hell was that—AAAAHH!”

“APRIL!” Ellen panicked, for a crocodile hiding in the water seized the moment to grab her friend’s waist in its teeth.

“AAAAHH! VIOLA! HELP! HEEEELP!”

Ellen stomped through the water as quick as she could, climbing onto the pier to grab her boots before jumping in to April’s side. “GET OFF! GET OFF!” She furiously hit the croc with the boots, and she was midway to landing another blow when the creature retreated, causing Ellen to hit April in the face on accident.

“Ohhhhh…” A shape that matched the crocodile’s lines of teeth was cut in April’s overalls, and blood seeped through.

Ellen carried her friend to town as fast as she could, and after crying for help, another medical cart arrived to take her. “Viola, thank you for helping, but, I’m not sure if we should hang out after this.” April spoke with a weak tone. “Not until you work out your issues. Just… sayin’.”

“I’m sorry!” Ellen yelled, watching the cart roll down the street. She used that word several times during these unfortunate instances, and every time, she doesn’t know why, it stung her. They were accidents, of course, she regretted them… That gave her a weird feeling, too. Why not, she loved Viola’s friends—her friends, loved hanging out with them, of course she should feel…

Ellen gripped her head and quickly walked away from the village. What was wrong with her, she shouldn’t be seeing these things. Viola’s dead, Viola’s dead, she kept telling herself. She gave me her body, her father killed her, she’s gone forever, there’s nothing you can do about it. You don’t feel bad, you love your new life, these are all hallucinations, stop seeing them. But even after two years of repeating this, she couldn’t get them out of her head. She tried her best to close her mind to any former feelings she had for Viola, reminding herself that no friendship was worth having to endure that disease, that Viola, the person who wanted her healed to begin with, served her purpose, and now she was dead.

“Sigh, I need to go home.” Ellen said to herself, on the road back to her—Viola’s house. The log cabin was in sight, so she tiredly and hurriedly stomped up the stairway embedded in the hill and threw open the door. “Dad, I’m ho… DAD?!”

Travis was on the floor, and two of the three eggs were still on the plate. Her father let out raspy moans that sounded familiar to Ellen’s ears. “Vi…la… Vi…ola…” He choked, reaching an arm to his daughter. Then, the world turned red again. Travis melted into the purple-haired legless girl that was Ellen’s former body. She crawled with one hand, reached desperately to Ellen with the other, leaving a trail of blood from her legless stubs. “Grah…ghhi…vv… bahhhck… pleeee…pleeese…”

Ellen’s heart raced, the decaying witch inches from touching her leg, she swung her foot and kicked her in the nose. The world became normal, and the girl turned back into Travis, his nose bleeding from the kick. “Dad…” She knelt beside the unconscious man. “Dad, I’m sorry! I-I thought- I-…”

It was even harder for Ellen to lift the taller, stronger man and drag him to town, once again yelling for help. After explaining to the police he had choked on an unusually spicy egg, for the third time she watched someone she loved carted away to a hospital. Townspeople were looking at Ellen weirdly. Three people suffered accidents and were hospitalized, and she was involved with all of them. Ellen grew afraid of these stares, like she was some monster, so she turned the other way and ran home.

She caught her breath after slamming the front door shut. She looked at the eggs still on the table, grabbed the fork Travis dropped on the floor, and poked them. She picked one up with the fork and dropped it on the carpet by the door. It dissolved like acid and burned a hole. Like someone broke in and tampered with it under Travis’s knowledge.

Ellen walked aside and sat on the hill, plopping her head on her hands. “Why…Why do I keep seeing these things? What’s happening to me? I love my life… I love my family and my friends. I finally escaped my pain… I put my past behind me. Why can’t I just live in peace?”

“Because she wants it back.”

Ellen gasped, turning behind her. A gleaming pair of green eyes stared at her from the shadow of a tree. “Y…You.”

“Yo.” The black cat presented himself from the shadows. His fur was smooth and shiny as ever. “Long time, no see, Ellen. You’d be amazed how difficult it is to find a new body. Black cats have become steadily harder to come by.”

“Can’t you pick a different animal?”

“I do sometimes. A few thousand years ago, I possessed a black horse that belonged to a different client—some chap from the desert. Cats, however, possess a softer feel, and they sleep in such warm places.” He rolled on the ground and stretched his limbs.

“…What do you mean she wants it back?”

“I mean Viola, of course. She’s angry. You took her body, her life, her friends and family. You betrayed and left her to rot. She wants it all back.”

“That’s impossible. Viola’s dead, she died in my body-”

“Ah- ah- ah.” The cat stopped. “Your body. You remember our contract, correct?”

“Our contract is still in place. You fed me a wide variety of souls across the centuries. In exchange, I protected you from death. Kept you immortal. You only aged based on your request. That’s why, when you met Viola, you asked me to let you age. So she would be convinced you were the same, you grew together, grew closer, until the time would finally come, you could trust each other with your lives.”

“What does this have to do with Viola? You agreed to keep me alive, not her.”

“Don’t you understand? By giving each other your bodies, you are sharing lives. Your old body is still yours, so as per my contract, I must keep it alive. But as you know, I can only do part of the work. Despite your ages of wishing for death, your desire to live and find love was strong, and it is that desire that helped me keep your heart beating. Viola… heh… Viola knows no greater emotion. You took every ounce of love and trust in her being, and crushed it. She hates you… in a greater sense than I can put into words. You took every thing that made her ‘Viola’, trapped her in a state worse than death. She wants it all back, Ellen… she will understand nothing else, than sweet, cold-hearted revenge.”

“No! I stand by what I said to her. She gave me this body, she wanted me to be rid of my pain, she agreed to this trade. And what’ve I done wrong? Nothing! I’m respectful to her father, nice to her friends, I could be the nicest girl in town! If Viola didn’t want me to be this happy, if all of that was a lie, then maybe she DID deserve that fate. Maybe she was just… a liar!”

“Yes… perhaps. Caring for her poor best friend all this time, why would she not be happy about this transaction if she had not wanted you to get better? One way or the other, one of you would be happy and healthy, the other would be sick and miserable. Why on Earth would Viola be so upset over something she agreed upon? …Although, the fact that you destroyed her legs, eyes, throat, and tricked her father into murdering her, might have played a factor. But that’s just me.”

“I am not giving her body back. I’m not going back to the pain, the misery. I’m keeping her life and there’s nothing she can do about it.”

“Fine. But she can torture you, as you saw. As long as she is angered, all of those you love will suffer. You cannot possibly know peace as long as her soul lives. And her soul will live, as long as our contract stands.”

“And what if I relinquish this contract?”

“The only way to do that is if the client willingly and knowingly walks into death. If they have no more desire to live and bear no more regrets on their soul. This rule applies to Viola now as well as you. If she chose to accept what she agreed, chose to let Ellen keep her body and life, knowing her friend can be happy and healthy… Viola’s rage will end. She will be able to accept death and pass on with no strings attached, while you, in her body, can live, no longer burdened by what you’ve done. It is that simple.”

“And you won’t ask anything else from me?” Ellen asked. “If she’s gone, I can keep this body and live like normal? Like nothing was ever off?”

“No strings attached.” The cat nodded. “It will be all yours.”

“…Alright.” A determined look burned in her emerald eyes. “I’ll do it. I’ll confront Viola and end this once and for all. This was her decision and she needs to accept that. …Is she at the house?”

“Of course. And her rage has contributed to her magic. She may, at this point, be at a level beyond what you could understand. Will you still go?”

“Yes. It’s still my house, after all. It won’t be killing me anytime soon.”

“Very well. I suppose I’ll go with you… so you don’t die. Whenever you need me to, talk to me and I will save your game.”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

I mean, Viola has no reason to be upset, right? Ellen just didn’t wanna go back to her deathbed, she makes a valid point. Yeah, it’s a little conceited, but wouldn’t you? Oh well. XP Yeah, a little crossover action here, Guertena is the late artist from Ib, and I’m one of those guys that links the games together in some way. XP But I will confirm that little girl was not Ib herself, it was a reference, but not the actual person. ;P Next time, the game will officially begin as we enter the Witch’s House. See you then.

Chapter Text

And so the real game begins. :P

It’s been 2 years since Ellen walked this road. Very rarely has she been down it, only one time before, and that was the very day she left this place. However, this body, Viola’s body, ran up and down it so many times. For seven years, since that night, that dark stormy night when Ellen’s former home was shared with the six-year-old girl who feared the storm more than Ellen’s power. Under this afternoon sky, clouds slowly covering the sun, there it stood: Ellen’s 5-story mansion was darker and more grotesque than ever. Blood was dried upon the walls, pitch-black existed beyond the decayed windows, and the greenery around it wilted.

Ellen stopped to gaze at the structure, as did the cat who walked alongside her. This was the second time Ellen stood on the outside, seeing it through the eyes of someone else, like hundreds of children who wandered helplessly into the woods and stared. “Looks great.” The cat said. “It seems that Viola chose to do a little remodeling. Will you still go?”

Ellen spared a glance at him before facing the front door fearlessly. She displayed no emotion during the first run through her own house, she wouldn’t let feelings get in her way this time. She walked forward, outstretched her arm, and took the handle.

9 years ago

Six-year-old Viola sat on the couch, bundled warmly in a light-red towel that absorbed her wetness. She held a teacup in both hands and sipped. “Thank you for letting me stay here.” She smiled at Ellen across from her.

“Don’t mention it.” Ellen smiled calmly.

“If you’re a witch, can you make the storm go away?”

“I’m not a very powerful witch. I can’t change the weather or the earth. But I could keep my house dry if I wanted to.”

“What else can you do?”

“Lots of things. Turns objects into food, make things fly, talk to animals, you name it.”

“Can you change my hair?”

Ellen smiled and waved her finger at Viola. The child stared at her braids, watching them fade from gold to brown, then blue, red, orange, then gold. “Woooooow!”

Ellen saw the childlike wonder in her emerald eyes. She waved her fingers, opened the dresser in the corner, and summoned many clothes and supplies to fly around. Viola gazed with great big eyes, as if trying to absorb the spectacle in its entirety. Her eyes were open to a whole new world, watching this small display of magic opened her mind to so many wonders. “That’s so coooool!”

“Hmhm. That little bit? It’s nothing.” Ellen remarked. “Wanna see more?”

“Yaaaaaaawwwwwn. I’m actually sleepy. I wanna lay down.” Viola said with half-closed eyes. “Will you show me more magic later?”

“Okay. I’ll take you to my guestroom.”

Ellen guided the drowsy child a few rooms away, to one with three beds beside each other. Each were taller than Viola, so she had to reach both arms and pull herself on. While her normal clothes were drying off, Ellen lent her a pretty white nightgown. Viola pushed open the thick blanket and settled underneath. The bed was incredibly soft and fluffy, the pillow felt like a cloud, gave Viola the sensation she was floating in midair. She grew even more drowsy as her tired eyes stared at Ellen. “Comfortable?” she asked.

“Yes. …Ellen… you’ll protect me from the storm, right?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“You won’t let anything eat me?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” She shook.

“Okay… good night.” With a warm, peaceful smile, the golden-haired child fell into slumber. She had nothing to fear from the darkness outside. Her new friend would protect her.

Ellen walked away, still smiling. Around the corner of her dark doorway, the black cat emerged with gleaming eyes. “Don’t I get tea?”

“I left you some.”

“Whatever. So are you going to kill her?”

“No.” She looked at Viola. “I…I think I can use her. She looks like a worthy candidate for the Switching Spell.”

“The Switching Spell, ah? That’s a very tricky spell, you know. It requires a strong sense of agreement and trust on both ends. There’s great power behind the phrase, ‘I trust you with my life.’ No two humans I know were able to truly activate it.”

“Maybe… but I think we’re already partway. She got my medicine for me… she isn’t afraid. Given a few years, I think we can pull the spell off. But I don’t want her to know about you until then. Listen, I wanna be able to age like normal for the next few years; if we grow up together, we might get closer.”

“As you wish. But I must point out the slight flaw in your plan.”

“What’s that?”

“Using the spell successfully requires you to grow closer, true. But by the time you’re able to use it, you might become so close, you won’t want to.”

Ellen faced Viola again. The child slept innocently, lost in Dreamland. As long as she was with a friend she trusted, her mind could freely wander. “Maybe… but I’ll do anything to escape this pain. No immortality is worth having to endure it… but it’s worth sacrificing a friendship.” Ellen walked up to the bed beside Viola’s and climbed on. She got under the covers and lay her head on the cloudlike pillow. She stared longingly at Viola’s beautiful slumbering face… her smile and the way her eyelids weighed down said it all: how much Viola trusted this complete stranger. A diseased girl with magical powers. No, that was all she needed to know: Ellen was a girl. Just like her. A human girl who grew like everyone else. Ellen slowly fell into slumber with her friend. Already, from the black cat’s view, they mirrored the other. Their minds were almost as one.

The next morning, the storm was gone. The morning sun made the wet leaves and grass sparkle. Viola walked outside and savored the post-storm air. She turned back to Ellen, standing in the doorway. “Thanks again, Ellen. You really aren’t a bad witch.”

“Thanks… but no one else would believe you. People think witches are demons. They try to kill us.”

“Maybe. But you’re not. …Can I come over later?”

“You want to come back?”

“Of course. We’re friends now, right?”

“…Yes… friends.”

“Okay. Bye-bye, Ellen!” The braided beauty joyfully ran down the path, Ellen watching ‘til she was out of sight.

Now

Ellen gasped partway from turning the handle. “That may sometimes happen.” The cat informed. “You know that you and Viola share memories as well as bodies. You won’t have immediate access to certain memories, but certain objects or events may trigger them. Be sure not to lose yourself in them.”

Ellen sighed, clearing her head and remembering the mission. She turned the handle and entered her house.

The interior of the lobby had crumbled walls and areas of dried blood. Spiders and other weird bugs crawled around the walls, and a rotting smell hit Ellen’s nose. Candles swayed on either side of the single door, and their purple surreal glow was new to Ellen. The door brought her to another small, but empty room with a note on the opposite wall. Before, Viola set up a trap where if Ellen stepped on the blood in the center, the walls would smash her flat. But Ellen immediately took notice how the entire floor was covered in blood. If she stepped anywhere but this tiny enclosing where the door was, her blood would become part of it. However, she likely had to read the note so the previous room could change.

Ellen decided to return to the previous room and look inside the holes in walls. A few of them were merely filled with bugs, but a long, hard object rested on a dusty plank inside one. She retrieved the telescope and brushed the cobwebs off it. She returned to the bloody room and used the telescope to look at the note across.

Ellen gasped, seeing the horrid face with empty, bloody eye-sockets. There was nothing there in reality, so she looked through the scope again. GIVE IT BACK. was written in blood, and Ellen flinched when the telescope’s glass broke. She watched the note disperse into nothing, so she returned to the previous room. The door disappeared, with two new doors on either side.

“Aaaah!” screamed the black cat. “I lost sight of you for a second. Where do you keep popping out from?!” Ellen passed this off like she usually did and entered the west door. Smeared pawprints filled the walls of the small room with the single table. A pair of scissors were once chained to this table, but Ellen noticed the chain was snapped and had blood on it. She approached the other door, but it was locked, so she returned to the lobby and entered the east door. It brought her to the small hallway with one door directly in front of her, and another down the other end. Ellen chose to head down the hall and enter the door next to the grandfather clock.

Unfortunately, this door was locked, so Ellen went back to go in the other door. There sat the basket with the teddybear and teddybear torso. Er, something wasn’t quite right… both teddybears had limbs and barely fit in the basket together—and certain limbs were unmatching sizes. After placing both bears on the floor, it seemed that some of their limbs were switched. The big bear had the small one’s right arm in place of his left leg, his left leg was his left arm, the small one’s left leg was his right arm, but his right leg was normal, for no blood was around the base. The small bear had its big brother’s right arm on his right leg, the big one’s left arm was his right arm, and his own right leg served as his left leg.

Ellen most likely had to rearrange them back to normal, but first she read the note in the room. Won’t you let them see their daddy? Curious, Ellen left the room and headed for the locked door down the hall. She planted her ear against it, hearing a quiet breathing inside. She went back to the bears’ room, took their limbs apart, and stuck them to their correct areas. Click. There was an unlocking sound somewhere. The note implied she had to take the bears with her… but she learned to expect Viola’s tricks, no matter how subtle or obvious. Ellen let the bears be, passed the lobby—the candles on the walls melted—and entered the scissor-less room. She discovered that the door had unlocked, allowing her into the dining room.

8 years ago

Viola danced up the road to Ellen’s house, swaying a basket of apples excitedly. To think she met Ellen just a year ago, time really flies. She stopped before Ellen’s doorway and joyfully knocked thrice. The door creaked open on its own, and Viola skipped inside. “Good morning, Ellen!” she called. “Happy friendship anniversary! I brought you some apples!”

Her friend was waiting in the dining room, greeting Viola with a warm smile. “Good morning, Viola. You came hungry, didn’t you?”

“Uh-huh! My dad didn’t believe me when I said I was full. It’s getting harder to come over without him knowing.”

“You still haven’t told anyone?”

“N…Not really.” Viola frowned, hearing a drop in tone in Ellen’s voice. She got the feeling her friend was hurt. “They-… I don’t think anyone else would understand. Everyone’s afraid of the Witch. I’m afraid if I tell them, they’ll make me bring them here and… hurt you. …I don’t…”

“You’re probably right.” Ellen said. “It doesn’t matter. Anyway… good thing you’re hungry. I cooked you breakfast! Voila!” She turned to the table, and Viola’s mouth fell wide. A banquet was prepared for her, so many fruits, vegetables, bread, and meat in perfect arrangement. Viola’s tummy could never fit it all. “If you want, I could just make all the food fly into your mouth.” Ellen joked.

“Heehee.” Viola flushed, closing her gaping mouth. “I don’t like meat, though… y-you can have it, if you want.”

“No… I can’t.” Ellen spoke with a lower tone, still smiling. “Because of my sickness, I can only eat soft foods or liquids. My digestive track is faulty, so my stomach would feel heavy for a long time, and you could imagine going to the bathroom after that.”

“Oh…”

“Thank you for the apples.” Ellen took Viola’s basket. “I can make this into soup while you eat.”

Ellen went to the kitchen while Viola grabbed a knife and spread jelly and peanut butter on a bread piece, put another piece on top, and began eating. She dipped broccoli into melted cheese, then added peas and mashed potatoes to the mix. It was truly the kind of meal Elizabeth probably had everyday at her mansion. But Viola couldn’t enjoy it as much as she wanted, seeing Ellen return and sit a few seats down. She slurped cabbage soup from a bowl and washed it down with apple juice. Viola paused midway from biting a carrot. “I can’t eat this.”

“Why, don’t you like it?” Ellen asked.

“I feel bad that… I get all this tasty food when you can’t eat anything. It’s our anniversary, so I want us to eat it together.”

“But Viola, I made all of this for you. I don’t care that I can’t eat it, but I want you to enjoy it. I may be the sick one, but I want my friend to live happy and healthy, too.”

“Um… I…”

“And if you wanna talk about doing something I can’t,” Ellen flicked her fingers, sending sparkly dust that made flowers appear on Viola’s hair, “I have magic. I have the unfair advantage.”

“Heeheehee! Good point.”

“Although…” Ellen waved her hands over a few pieces of meat. Viola watched as they steadily shrunk to grape size. “Small foods are easy to process, too. I guess I could eat with you.” She picked each piece up in her fingers and swallowed whole.

“Hehe!” Viola grinned. She could continue eating without regret, every tasty delicacy hitting her tongue, she might not have to eat for several days afterward. “Um… Ellen… were you really gonna kill me last year?” She frowned.

Ellen chuckled. “No. I just wanted to make you leave. A lot of kids would’ve screamed and ran by then, I thought you would do the same.”

“But… did you ever actually kill anyone?”

“…I might have… lost control at some points. I was still developing my magic, so when I was trying to defend myself, a simple freezing spell… became a fire bullet through the heart.”

Viola saw Ellen lower her head, looking regretful. She smiled. “It’s all right, Ellen. Everyone makes mistakes. You’re a great person.”

“Hm. You’re too kind.”

“It’s true. And they’ll understand one day. Promise.”

Now

The rotting corpses of animals filled the table, it was surprising their scent didn’t kill Ellen immediately. Pigs laid on their sides, their innards spilled, the heads of chicken and turkeys shared plates, their bodies beside them. The severed legs of horses stood bent with their hooves in the air, and the main dish appeared to be roasted dog. For 7 years, Ellen cooked delicious food that she couldn’t eat, gave it all to Viola, of course Viola couldn’t eat it all without returning to her father on a full stomach. Ellen happily gave her all that food to nurture her body, keep it growing. Ellen’s body, so frail and tiny, couldn’t process a bite of turkey, the more she watched Viola guzzle that food, the more Ellen wanted her body, all of its nutrition, Ellen watched Viola grow and develop for 7 years. Now she had it, looking at them now, Viola’s strong hands, her sturdy legs, the heart that beat in her chest—

Ellen mentally stopped herself, she couldn’t lose focus and think about such trivial things. Still, Viola never ate meat, she took all of the cut and steamed vegetables Ellen prepared for her, and devoured them exuberantly. All that lay here was dead meat, but looked as if they were killed recently, perhaps trying to remind Ellen what she was/is. On the closest end of the table was a note, like last name, saying, Why won’t you taste the soup? I worked so hard. Except last time, the house aided Ellen by changing the word ‘soup’ to ‘poison’, hinting the trap Viola prepared, but not this time. And there it was, the toxic green stew in the skull bowl. This was the cabbage soup Ellen usually drank, except made toxic by the New Witch, and she wouldn’t fall for it this time.

“Bawk-bagawk!” Ellen flinched, whipping her head to one of the headless chickens. For a second, she thought it flapped its wings… maybe she imagined it. There was a note above the unlit fireplace, reading Dinner isn’t cool without the fire. Near the southeast corner of the room was a door to return to the lobby, but it was locked for the moment. She entered the northeast door, leading Ellen to the kitchen. She half-expected to see the Ghost Cook chopping up onions on the wooden board—when she was still a witch, using a dark spell from a book, she summoned ghosts from the dead to serve in her house, mainly to help in the kitchen or organize books. Of course, the librarian sought to escape his pain by hanging, and now it looks like the cook saw his end: the kitchen knife was suspended in midair, positioned like it were in somebody’s chest. A floating blood stain was around that spot, and leaked to the floor. On the wall above was a note written in blood, likely made in his last moments: The pigs took my beans.

Definitely the gutted pigs outside. If these pigs swallowed the beans, she wouldn’t search their innards with her bare hands. Ellen searched inside a nearby drawer and found gardening gloves. She returned to the dining room and examined the pigs, pulling her right glove off to feel the air around them. The pig on one end of the table had a warmer air, while the pig on the opposite end felt colder. Ellen put her glove on and dug her hands around that pig’s innards. She retrieved a tiny bean covered in blood – knowing she couldn’t eat like this, she went back to the kitchen and dropped the bean in a small bucket of water. The water froze solid, as Ellen expected of the Frost Bean’s power. She went back into the dining room and dug into the other pig’s guts with her gloves, finding a red Spice Bean as the source of its heat. The horrid smell of evaporated blood hit her nose, for the bean’s heat kept it dry from the pig’s blood.

She guessed this meant it was safe to eat- hold on… If Ellen ate the Spice Bean, she would gain fire breath and be able to melt the Frost Bean free, but her throat would burn until she ate the Frost Bean itself, whose ice breath would then be unusable. Ellen carried the Spice Bean to the kitchen, placed it on the frozen bucket, and slowly watched it thaw. Ellen could then grab the tiny blue bean with mist around it, and watched the water bubble with the Spice Bean inside. She went back to the dining room and reread the note above the fireplace, already seeing Viola’s trick. She ate the Frost Bean, felt the powerful chill across her nerves, and blew ice into the fireplace, hearing a click sound. She rushed to the kitchen, grabbed the Spice Bean from the boiling bucket (her gardening gloves withstood the heat), ate the bean, and its fire mixed with Ellen’s ice caused both powers to dispel each other.

The water was apparently so hot, Ellen’s gloves dissolved. She tried to open the door in the kitchen, which would lead to the 2nd floor, but it was locked. Confused, she entered the dining hall again; the odor had faded due to the ice in the fireplace, refrigerating the whole room by the look of it. If Ellen lit the fireplace with actual fire, she imagined a toxic gas overfilling the room, the animals’ remains decaying faster, and Ellen dying from the scent. She was proud for not falling for that trick, but it was then she realized the door in the northwest corner. Perhaps that was the door that was locked; well, it was open now. It was a room Ellen never showed Viola, filled with mannequin heads of many a hairstyle. Ellen always had a thing for hair, almost a hobby of hers, and she loved pretty styles. For every guest she killed over the years, Ellen cut a piece of their hair off, and used the DNA to magically grow that person’s style from these heads.

Ellen magically hid the door to this room for the seven years she knew Viola, and it seems Viola recently discovered it. It smelled of dust, but no blood or ruin was inside, the faceless mannequins were as still as they always had been. Rows of them were aligned on rectangular tables, and these tables were arranged to create a maze around the small, cramped room. Ellen kept her cool and navigated the maze for anything suspicious- she felt one of the heads turn to her for a split second, but when she looked, she only saw the back of its orange hair. Ellen wound up in a dead end, but a note was on the wall. LET IT KILL.

Already, she knew something was going to chase her at some point. She navigated the maze further, until a specific route brought her to the farthest left corner of the room. A mannequin baring long, puffy golden hair was perched, and it seemed a fork was stuck in it. Figuring this was something to put in the soup, she… it was stuck. The strands of the golden hair were tighter than she expected. Ellen walked away to find someth—

SHING SHING SHING SHING. The wall behind the mannequin burst down, a massive pair of scissors chopped across the floor, Ellen bolted around the maze with her heart racing. LET IT KILL, the note said, no way in Hell was she letting these things catch her. Memorizing the correct path through the maze, made sure to hit no dead ends, she made it to the exit and pushed it open. She gasped and ran around the dining table, the scissors wouldn’t stop chasing, she didn’t wanna run anywhere else in fear of being cornered, so she kept the circle going. She tried to think of a way to stop them during so, thinking back to other rooms, and she knew the answer: Ellen dashed through the southwest door, past the empty room where the scissors used to be chained, across the lobby—the scissors burst down the blank white wall that was the shortcut, when she expected it to follow her trail, but she managed to evade.

Ellen burst into the bears’ room, grabbed them from the basket, dodged around the scissors and out the door, ran up the hall, and briefly held them to the sealed door before throwing open the grandfather clock and hiding inside. As she expected, the giant teddybear burst open that door, and Ellen watched as the giant scissors tore him limb from limb.

The scissors immediately felt terrible for their actions. They bent completely back and snapped into two huge blades. Ellen slowly came out of the clock, stepping in the messy red puddle that was the giant bear’s blood. Click. An unlocking sound. The door in the kitchen was open, she suspected. She stepped over the bear’s severed pieces—she stopped and turned. The little teddybears were mourning over their daddy. They could barely stand on their legs or keep their arms in place, thanks to Ellen’s rearrangement earlier.

She wanted to walk away, but… she couldn’t. She didn’t understand why, but she felt pity for those little bears. Of course, Ellen thought. She had Viola’s body, her mind and heart, she would feel pity for any creature, even the tiniest ant, even… her. Viola’s instincts were reacting, but no matter how much Ellen wanted to, she couldn’t ignore them. As long as she was thinking about those teddybears and their dead daddy, she couldn’t focus on her mission. Since the daddy bear had broken down the door, Ellen could walk inside. The room where Ellen had a collection of presents in the corner, all the presents Viola bought for their anniversaries or Ellen’s birthdays. Well, the gifts themselves were in miscellaneous places, but she used magic to rewrap the boxes and save them for memories. Ellen knew the moment she’d reopen these presents, she’d be lost in flashbacks again. Ellen couldn’t allow that.

In one corner was the wardrobe that was sealed until the house returned to normal. It was not sealed this time, but inside was a roll of tape. Ellen returned to the teddybear children and used the tape to stitch the arms and legs to them. Their limbs no longer faltered and stayed on perfectly. They looked up at Ellen with adorable beady eyes – even if they were actual beads, there was soul inside them, and they looked grateful. They turned to the daddy bear as it glowed. The spirit of a young man slowly emerged, his face weary, but he perked when he spotted the kids. The little bears glowed, and two children, big brother and little brother, gazed at their father. The man smiled and embraced his children in a hug. They spared one final look at Ellen, before fading away.

Ellen—or rather, Viola’s heart felt touched by the moment. …Ellen shook it off, she no longer felt the pity, and could dedicate her attention to finding Viola. She returned to the present room, however, and noticed something else: the desk where her diary sat. Ellen remembered magically dividing her diary into several books, placing them around the house before she changed places with Viola, but… this was odd. The diary that lay here was titled Diary, with the previous word burnt out, it looked like. A dark aura surrounded it, and the words inside were written with a deep black ink. Ellen curiously read.

Ellen never wrote this. Could Viola have written it? It doesn’t sound like her, but who else was occupying the house at this time? Ellen passed it off for now and returned to the lobby, seeing the black cat next to the shortcut the scissors cut open. She wondered if he was startled by the scissors’ appearance, but he only said, “Where does a girl find this much blood?” Ellen entered the dining room via the shortcut; not that the regular route was very long, and crossed to the kitchen, finding the locked door was open. Her boots clacked the wooden stairs as she progressed to the second floor—the shadow of the mangled face of her former body darkened the window light on the stair-curve, but nothing was in the window when Ellen looked, and the shadow was gone.

She went up the next staircase to the second floor’s hallway. She remembers this area being fairly short in terms of puzzles. The black cat was sitting beside a suit of armor – which Ellen honestly expected to attack her during the first journey, but it only walked around nonchalantly. Ellen entered the first door coming down the hall, to the dusty room where the spider made its home. The barrels had been decaying, but the giant web where the butterfly was trapped was gone, exposing the hole behind it. Behind this hole was a dusty shaft, which Ellen couldn’t yet climb. She went back and went further down the hall, to the room with the glass cases of bugs.

Those weren’t real bugs in the cases, of course. She used to play with a spell where, after her visitors died, she transformed their departed souls into insects, which she kept as prizes, similar with the hair, though not as much. The last time she did it was with a golden-haired woman, whom Ellen made into a fiery orange butterfly. Ellen took delight to the creature, so she didn’t trap it, let it fly around the house. After rescuing said butterfly from the spider, she wondered if it was still free? Either way, this sight was odd: the Bloody Skull, which had escaped from its case the first time to chase Ellen, was crying over an insect case.

“Sniff, sniff. I want my bubberfwy baaaaaack.” His voice didn’t match his creepy appearance at all. Now Ellen was more afraid of it chasing her. Well, she supposed she would have to save the model butterfly. Ellen left the room to go to the house’s library, full of many books she liked to ‘collect’ from her visitors, newspaper clippings of her past, and a mini book series the demon provided her, about the Witch’s House. Ellen curiously decided to read the first of said books—except it was titled Witch’s Ghost. She certainly didn’t remember this in her collection, but she read it. When a witch’s ghost seeks revenge, her hatred spreads to souls around them. Ellen kind of figured that by now. There was a second book in the collection, so she read. Hatred will always thrive until the one responsible cleanses it.

Now that Ellen was here, she thought, she decided to go read her favorite story: A “Funnier” Story as it was now titled. And even funnier after she reads what Viola changed up. Once upon a time, a hunter entrusted his dog to watch a rich man’s cart. The man rewarded the dog with a silver coin, which he eagerly brought home to his master. The hunter accused the dog of stealing, so he shot the dog. The dog was angry that he was unjustly robbed of his life, so he returned as a ghost. The hunter was afraid, and guilty, so he apologized and begged forgiveness. The dog’s ghost said, “You robbed me of life. You will suffer for eternity.” The ghost chased the hunter forever and made his life miserable. Seeking to escape it, the hunter killed himself with his gun.

“HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.” The nearby chair burst with a loud, almost sarcastic laughter, nearly making Ellen’s heart stop. Ellen looked to the southeast corner and found the Library Ghost was still hung by the neck; or at least the noose was there. She wondered if she could use that noose to get up the spider’s nest, but first she needed to cut it down. The knight’s sword looked a reasonable candidate, so she went outside and gently took it from its clutched hand. “Never go in unarmed.” The cat cautioned.

Ellen reentered the library, aiming to cut the very top of the noose so she’d have more rope to use. Since plenty of books were lain around, she collected and stacked them atop one-another, then grabbed a wooden chair to set next to the stack as a step. Ellen balanced carefully atop the books, swung the sword up, and cut the noose at the top, hearing a forceful plop on the floor. Ellen pulled the rope off the ghost and returned to the knight, giving his sword back (otherwise, he might chase). Don’t go unarmed, though… before Ellen headed for the spider’s nest, she entered the insect room again and followed the narrow hall to the lone bookcase, seeing an open book lain—

Ellen shut her eyes and turned away. She knew that was the Book of Death lain down, waiting for her eyes to glance at its pages. The easiest trick in the, er, book. But with her new noose, she whirled it like a lasso, threw the hoop end to the opposite side of the book, and pulled it closed. She thanked April for giving her lasso lessons, Ellen quite enjoyed that sport. She could safely go and pick the book up, stuffing it in her satchel without even eying the title. Ellen then headed for the spider’s room, passed the crumbled hole, and threw the lasso onto a jagged rock on a high ledge up the shaft.

Ellen could climb up, viewing the dark, filthy passage cluttered with spider webs, some with the horrid creatures as tiny as natural, or twice the size of her feet. Ellen steered clear of the giant webs, knowing the moment she touched one, she would remain stuck until the spiders feasted. Some parts of the floor broke, it startled her sometimes, but they never caused her to fall, she only had to maneuver around them, drawing a little too close to webs on the ‘set’ paths. Ellen came to a ladder leading further upward – she squeezed to it in fright when a swarm of spiders rained down, but none of them landed on her.

At the top of the ladder, she overlooked a tall, wide room where the red-striped giant spider sat on its massive web, woven over a bottomless hole in the floor. It was turned away, so Ellen walked around and saw that the creature was lovingly caressing the blue butterfly model. Ellen wondered if it had any intention to eat the orange one before, or just do this, either way it was disturbing. Ellen got directly in front of the spider, standing carefully on the edge of the hole, and threw her lasso to catch the butterfly and pull. The creature grew furious and blasted a string of silk to latch itself to the ceiling.

The spider dropped eggs to the floor that quickly hatched as its babies crawled to Ellen. She squished them all beneath her boots forcefully, and wasn’t looking forward to cleaning the mess later. Once all were gone, their mother came down and charged at Ellen, she immediately whipped out the Book of Death, aimed its pages at the creature, and forced her to stop as two of her five eyes itched. Ellen closed the book as the spider crawled along a web-covered wall, laying eggs around it before retreating to the ceiling. The eggs hatched, and the children shot web-balls from their vantage points. Each time Ellen dodged the balls, the spiders crawled a little bit lower, so Ellen could catch them with her lasso, pull them down, and crush them. The mother spider dropped down and charged again, but Ellen showed her another page of Death’s Book.

Two more eyes were destroyed, only one remained. The spider was trying to retreat, knowing it was helpless, but Ellen couldn’t let it escape. She threw her lasso around the spider’s neck and used all her strength to force it around. The spider was trying to run onto the web and pull Ellen along, the girl used all the firmness in her legs to remain stationary. Like a bull at the rodeo, the spider turned to face its assaulter, Ellen showed her the Book of Death and burned its last eye. The spider fell over on its back, its legs curled, and she died. Ellen walked around the giant web, climbed down the ladder, and made her way out of the nest. The lasso had grown weary from pulling the spider, so anymore use would make it break. After she left the nest, she returned to the insect room and showed the butterfly model to the Bloody Skull.

“Sniff. By bubberfwy.” The mopey little skull hopped over and brushed his face against the fake insect. “Dank dou. I go dow.” He took the creature in its teeth, pushed open the glass case with his head, and bounced in. Click. An unlocking sound.

Still creeped out, Ellen left and was about to enter the door at the end of the hall… until she heard an eerie moan from the library. She peeked inside and didn’t see its source, but heard it in the direction of the Ghost Librarian. It was louder when Ellen stepped closer, and his hoarse voice spoke with the feebleness of a weary neck. “I wanna. . . die. . . wanna. . die. . .”

Ellen had to ask what his problem was, but remained silent. She still had the Book of Death and what remained of the rope, so she showed him both. “Oooooh?” The librarian took the book. “Is this… for me? Oh… I can finally finish it. Oh…” He took the book and happily turned its pages (the covers faced Ellen’s view). She was confused, if he wanted to finish it, why not just keep it in the first place? Oh well, she dropped the rope on the floor and proceeded to the unlocked door-

CLINK CLINK CLINK- The knight charged at her from the other side, Ellen slammed the door as its sword pierced through. She looked back and only now realized the suit of armor was not beside the cat, probably entered the room before Ellen did. She slowly opened the door again, finding the sword stuck, but the knight was lazily lain against the wall. She released a sigh and looked at the stairs to the 3rd floor, wondering what surprises Viola had in store for her next. It didn’t matter, because until she could make this ghost leave her alone once and for all, she could never live in peace. She proceeded up the stairs, past many sacks of dead cats.

4 years ago…

“Ellen, it’s a beautiful day outside.” Viola told her with a smile, standing in the doorway. “Why won’t you come out? I promise we won’t go to town. Just a walk in the forest is lovely.”

“I…I’m just not ready, yet.” Ellen replied downtrodden.

“Why not? You aren’t allergic, are you?”

“I…I’ll feel helpless if I go outdoors. I won’t be able to use magic very well. I can control the dimension inside containable objects, like my house, but, if I use magic out there, and someone saw me…”

“You’ll have me. I’ll protect you if anyone tries to hurt you. You have a fun house, Ellen, but I’d really love to play outside with you. Please?”

Viola held a hand out. Ellen stared at it… but looked away, frowning. “I…I can’t. I just… can’t.”

Viola sighed. “Okay. I won’t force you. I hope you change your mind, though… there’s really nothing to be afraid of.”

“Happy birthday, Ellen… do you love your new house?”

“It’s… pretty.”

“It’s yours to do whatever you please. Make it bigger, if you like. By collecting more souls, its surprises will multiply.”

“I can control every part of it with my magic?”

“Exactly. …Although… there’s where the limits lie. We cannot have too many mortals be aware of the powers I’ve bestowed upon you. As per our contract, I must limit the magic you can use outside. You can control the house as you like, and the grounds around it, but your power will not be the same beyond 10 meters. So, if any visitors discovered your magic… I encourage you to kill them. But please, let this not discourage you from getting fresh air. Outside is healthy for you.”

“…No… I won’t need it.”

Ellen hated feeling helpless. With magic powers, that part of her life changed, inside this house, she was powerful. True, she let Viola bring her medicine as a means of strengthening their friendship, but she would never want to go outside, be totally powerless, rely on Viola to protect her. Three-hundred years ago, when she was born, cursed with an illness, she was helpless in her parents’ care, her mean, unloving parents. On her seventh birthday, she decided to prove her self-control, fight the pain of walking and sickness to grab a knife and stab them to death. Now, she was a witch, and never regretted her decision. Ellen hated the idea of dependence, grew sick at the very word… as kind as Viola was, Ellen would never want to be completely helpless to her.

I’m trying to make all the puzzles kinda like Witch’s House, but with a different touch obviously, and including some new rooms or areas. And yes, flashbacks will be a semi-frequent thing, kinda like Mad Father. X3 Next, Ellen will progress to Floors 3 and 4. Until then.

Chapter Text

Yo.

6 years ago

“Happy birthday, Ellen!” Viola said happily to her friend. Ellen was 10 years old now, and Viola was 9. “I wasn’t sure what to get you at first, but then I thought… Well, just open it!” She gave her a light-red box with baby-blue ribbon.

Ellen wore a curious stare as she cut the box open with scissors. Inside was a pair of flat, red shoes. “Shoes?”

“Yeah! I never see you wearing any shoes, and you always talk about your legs hurting, so I thought these could make your feet more comfortable.”

Ellen picked up the right shoe and tried to put it over her foot. But there was a noticeable size difference. “They’re too big for me.”

“Yyyyeah…” Viola blushed and scratched her head. “The truth is, my friend Elizabeth bought those for me. I wasn’t too fond of them, but I was afraid to tell her that… and since you use magic, I thought you could shrink them down to fit you. I’m sorry if you wanted something… better.” She frowned.

Ellen smiled, deciding to confirm Viola’s theory by putting both feet into the larger shoes, and shrinking them with a tap of her fingers. They fit to a perfect size as she stood up and walked around. They had a comfortable padding, and Ellen felt less pressure under her feet with each step. “They’re not bad.” She smiled honestly. “I never really needed shoes, though… I mean, it’s not like I go outside.”

“Oh.” Viola looked away, still frowning. “Actually, I was thinking… we could also go outside today.”

Ellen turned to her, a little surprised at her statement. She narrowed her eyes and looked down at her shoes. So that’s what she was expecting. The outside, where Ellen was powerless. Instead of inside this house, where Ellen had total control. Not that she expected Viola to try anything…

Present time; Her Room

But that’s why she didn’t wanna go out, wasn’t it? She looked down at Ellen’s bare feet, once so pretty despite her illness, but were now stripped of their peach color, now red and purple, barely keeping her standing. Not that Viola could look at them in any fashion except for auras. What a terrible friend Ellen was. A lying, unfaithful, horrid incarnation of a demon. Any feeling Ellen could feel was an illusion, and she could feel nothing towards anyone else. All of that love Viola gave her, all those gifts, Ellen was a cruel and selfish witch. She would feel helpless outside, she was afraid to step out, she couldn’t, for five seconds, be under Viola’s protection and power, instead she always had to keep Viola helpless. That trust she felt for Viola was false, for seven years, she just enjoyed playing Viola like a card.

And now Ellen had the nerve to return to her house in a hopeless attempt to tell Viola to back off. But Viola would make her regret everything she’s done. The moment she forced Ellen to give her body back, Viola would walk away from this house and never return. Let Ellen stay in the place where she was powerful, in the despair she created. She took relish in the idea, of Ellen, staying here, in pain, alone. . . . forever.

Floor 3

Ellen made it to the entrance of Floor 3, facing the familiar hallway where swords fly at her out of midair. She took a breath and began to march down—a sword flew at her from behind, she dodged right, dodged left, jumped a sword—she dashed forward, a swarm of swords in a zigzag alignment chased her with great speed, she kept within the safe center as she ran. The swords had gone past—they came from the front now, Ellen swiftly dodged them going forward. A chunk of the floor was missing, Ellen jumped and ran along the wall, landed on the other side, then ran along the left wall to cross another gap. A team of swords dropped from the ceiling, but Ellen had bolted into the door and escaped death. That sure was one hell of a long hallway. Ellen said this before, but if there was anything to love about Viola, it was her healthy, agile body.

Then Ellen was at the real, quiet hallway, reeking with purple candles. The black cat was standing guard at the left turn. “Yo. By the way, a witch’s ghost lives here. …I guess all the plot points are obvious by now.” After being humored by his remark, Ellen’s first idea was to go into the frog’s room. However, a sign on the wall by the cat read, HE’S HUNGRY, NOW. Ellen was able to open the door to the frog’s room, but she sensed some reverse-psychology action coming up, so she chose not to.

The door into the Mirrored Room was open. Ellen remembered this as their favorite place to drink tea and gobble down cookies and sweets. The one type of food she and Viola could share the same feelings about, the sweetness of cakes and sugar. Now the room was a mess; the teddybears were beheaded, the roses wilted, the cakes were splat—however, the room was still in perfect symmetry. Including… herself. Yes, there was an Ellen- er, Viola clone on the other side of the room. Albeit a shadier color, she mimicked Ellen’s movements exactly. And like a real mirror, she wouldn’t let Ellen cross to the other side so easy. Ellen also thought it safe to not come in contact with her.

After analyzing her side, Ellen didn’t find anything out of place—but her reflection’s side, on the other hand. The end of a long stick stuck out from under the opposite table. Ellen positioned her reflection beside it, bent down to grab the air beside her side’s table, and the reflection picked up the stick. Ellen pulled the stick all the way out, it had a metal hook on its end. Ellen wasn’t sure if a direct hand-over would be safe, so she made the gesture of throwing, her reflection mimicked that movement—Ellen dodged aside before the stick’s hook struck her. Ellen safely picked the stick up and walked out to the hall-

Ellen’s vision flashed, her bloody eyeless body flew up to her, then disappeared. Just a cheap scare tactic, she had to remember. Ellen turned left from the room to see the thin balance beam, baring the lever on the other end. Ellen could reach the hook end of this long stick over, and flip the lever. She felt a rumbling, and decided to check the Mirrored Room. The doors had changed position, so that the width of the room appeared longer on left and right, instead of shorter. The twin tables were on either left and right, and were accessible to both Ellen and the reflection. The cupboard had changed position to the exact center of the room, the doors facing rightward.

Ellen’s reflection also came in with a long stick, but how to make use of it. There were chandeliers on either side of the room, kept hanging from the ceiling by twin locks on either side. Ellen held her long stick up to the lock of the right chandelier to pick it. The reflection mimicked and picked her side’s lock, causing the chandelier to collapse and shatter when it was free. Ellen walked out of the room, used the stick to flip the lever, then returned to find the room with a short width again. The chandelier on the reflection’s side was broken, and when she had the reflection bend down to touch a still-lit purple candle, the reflection combusted into flame and disintegrated. Ellen guessed the story would’ve played differently, had she taken down the other chandelier. At least this worked.

Ellen safely stepped around the patch of soot and entered the door behind – the reflection’s head briefly appeared on the soot patch, staring with an empty face, but it was gone when Ellen looked back. Right away, Ellen made sure not to read the note in this next small room; because that would trigger a spell where shifting left or right in the next hallway would lead Ellen into a trap. However, she read the ‘Secret Diary’ on the desk.

It made even less sense than before. Oh well. Ellen entered the next hallway—strings of spears flew at her, holes broke in the floor as she walked, spikes poked out from the sides—none of it was real, none of it distracted her. But since she didn’t read the note, she could freely move about the hall. She used this advantage to walk into the small library area, where the black cat stood. “I never got the difference between spoilers and foreshadowing.” he commented. Ellen looked on the bookshelf, where she recalled she hid the book Demons and Witches. A new book was placed there: The Angel, Lucifer. Ellen read the book.

Once, there was an angel called Lucifer. He felt pity for sad or despairing mortals, so he blessed them with amazing powers. Thousands were killed, because of his “gifts.” So God banished Lucifer from Heaven. The Devil took Lucifer under his wing. He wiped Lucifer’s memory and identity as an angel.

Interesting read, Ellen thought. She put the book back. On a chair nearby was a torn page. Ellen remembered that page telling about spells between two people. This page was different, it looked like. Before there existed magic, the gods gave humans the power to control nature itself. Humans eventually developed their own means of bending nature, and called it “Magic.” The other humans called this art sacrilegious. Terrible wars followed, those that could use magic were hunted and executed. To this day, the terms “demon” and “magic” were closely associated.

Ellen scoffed and walked to the other side of this passage. Another Secret Diary.

With nothing more to collect in this place, Ellen continued down the hall, and entered the small, dungeon room. The door beyond contains a giant snake, which ensured the death of tiny little froggy. Ellen peeped into the looking hole. She saw nothing. Instead of opening the door, Ellen stuck her long stick into the hole, angling it to the floor in that room. …A small, dark-green snake slithered up, leaping to Ellen’s shoulders and shivering. Poor thing must’ve been frightened by something. Awww. Ellen turned to walk back—BOOM. Something banged the door to that room, making Ellen flinch. She shook it off and returned through the Mirrored Room, into the main hallway.

Ellen finally entered the frog’s room. A square, black hole of darkness rested. Ellen remembered this trap. She placed the little snake on the north side of the hole—the snake frightfully tried to wrap around her arm, Ellen forcefully banged it against the wall until he was dizzy, falling on the floor as Ellen kicked him beside the hole. She quickly left the room. From the other side, she heard the dark whirring of the shadowy arm, dragging the tiny animal into the abyss. …Ellen expected to hear an unlocking sound, but no. If Ellen returned, would it be safe to enter the snake’s room? …Ellen opened the door, and found a stairway led down into the darkness. She sucked in a courageous, though nervous breath, and marched down below.

It was like an entirely different dimension down here. Flies buzzed all over the place, Ellen annoyedly swatted them away. She jumped when a giant frog tongue shot out of a hole and snatched a grouping of flies on her left. Ellen saw many such holes with flies close by. She walked around the opposite side of those flies, so the tongues would snatch them and not herself. At the end of this passage, Ellen saw the snake shuddering on a pedestal, underneath a large hole. A sign on the sealed door read, He’s dieting. …That was a weird clue. Wait! Was the monster intending to eat the snake because it was skinny? Ellen had a crazy idea: she quickly snatched the snake over to her with the long stick, and when the demonic shadow hand reached out, Ellen threw the stick into it, and the hand accepted.

The door to the next passage opened. All it needed was something skinny, and now Ellen had a snake to… maybe sacrifice for something else. Ellen came to a pool of dark ooze with a lever on the other side. Since she no longer had a stick, she chucked the snake across, and it loyally flipped the lever to make a bridge appear. Ellen noticed the ooze bubbling, so she ran across the bridge quickly to avoid the giant jumping tadpoles. She grabbed the snake and continued running, on either side of this passage were ooze holes that tadpoles leapt out of, wishing to take revenge and snack on the former witch.

At the end of the tunnel, Ellen entered a giant cave with no place else to go. She calmly approached the pool of purple ooze on the other side. Those pair of giant, squishy yellow eyes came up, and their color molted to become red. His right front leg came out, then his left, until the giant frog emerged completely. He looked the very same as in Ellen’s vision at the lake. The little snake cowered and slithered underneath Ellen’s dress.

Ellen dodged as the frog whipped its tongue at her, bolting to the room’s exit, but the frog took a tremendous leap and blocked her way. Ellen scrambled on her feet and barely avoided the tongue, running toward a stalagmite. The frog leapt her direction, but in his misfire, the stalagmite pierced him. The frog, being the half-alive spirit it was, leapt off of the jagged rock, which had then shattered. It resumed trying to snatch Ellen, but she evasively dodged its tongue, grabbed one of the pieces of the stalagmite, and threw it to its left eye. Ellen glanced at the ceiling to see a stalactite on one side. While the frog was blinking its eye back to health, she ran underneath, so the frog would leap and slam its head into the wall. Ellen ran out of the way, and watched the stalactite fall and stab the frog’s head. The gargantuan creature fell on its belly, dead.

Ellen still wasn’t sure what that accomplished, but she decided to leave this dungeon. The snake peeped out of her dress as she exchanged a look with it. Ellen panted silently and caught her breath, beginning the walk back—the area turned a blacker purple, the giant hands of the shadow demon stomped behind her, and she saw the terrifying dark spirit of the frog, even larger than its physical incarnation, with more ravenous eyes. Her heart racing, Ellen dashed across the passage, dodging left or right when the demon lashed its tongue-made-of-smog, ducking the tadpoles that jumped out of the puddles.

She turned rightward at the following tunnel, the monstrous shadow hands stretched out of the holes in attempt to grab Ellen, but she dodged them, and the stairway was in sight. “WAAAH!” Ellen stepped on a sticky, gooey spot on the ground, slipping out of her right shoe and falling on the stairs. She rolled on her back, and her life began flashing when the demon frog was ready to feast. “NO!! I’M SORRY!”

The frog stopped, inches from her helpless body. Tears leaked out of Ellen’s horror-struck emerald eyes. The shadowy body glowed, shrunk down, and landed on Ellen’s chest in the form of that cute little frog from two years ago. “I-I’m sorry for…for what I did to you.”

“…Ribbit.” It faded away.

…Well, that was certainly out of nowhere, Ellen thought. Those words totally burst out of her mouth. Those feelings just burned in her out of nowhere. Why did she want to apologize to the frog? …Granted, it was pretty friendly, and it wanted to stay by Ellen’s side. …Like Viola did. Were these Viola’s emotions that suddenly ignited inside her? Her love for even the smallest animals, that must be true. …Or… did Ellen despair in the face of death? If that frog swallowed her, surely the cat could’ve revived her, like every other time. …Was that Viola’s reaction, too? Is that how Viola felt, the moment she was betrayed by her closest friend, and then her own father would be her ultimate killer. Never able to tell him, never able to tell anyone the truth… Viola had died with nary a trace.

Ellen shook this off. Truly, Viola would feel such despair in the face of death, but not Ellen. She wouldn’t have died. Ellen stood up to grab her misplaced boot, struggling to pull it out of the goop. A sticky spot remained on its bottom, so she would have to walk without this one. She stepped up the stairway out of the dark dimension, and left the frog’s room. The minute she did, she heard a rushing of water. She went back in, and found the stairway gone, but the tub full. She washed the gunk off her boot and put it back on. When Ellen returned to the Mirrored Room, the chandelier beside her doorway fell and shattered on the floor. She stomped over the glass and avoided the candle; if she didn’t get her shoe washed, crossing the glass with a bare foot wouldn’t end well.

Once she made it to the snake’s room, she peeped inside, but saw nothing. The room was totally empty, except for three tiny gravestones. They read Ri, Bi, and Rit. Ellen guessed if she hadn’t appeased their father, their spirits would’ve attacked her upon entering. But it seems Ellen gets to keep her snake friend for a while. The following corridor was very long, with rows of many white cat statues, which all… looked perfectly well. And like before, the black cat was posing as one of them. “You’re doing an excellent job not dying.”

So, Ellen assumed that each of these statues would’ve represented a particular “hazard” Ellen was killed by. But since Ellen hadn’t fallen for any of Viola’s traps, none of the statues were altered. Ellen casually walked past them—the end statue shot its head forward, missed Ellen, and fell on the floor. “Hey, don’t blame me for at least having one for the collection.” Black cat remarked.

Ellen went up the following staircase to the hall of four tunnels, represented by the mouths of painted faces. The note read, Newborns are soft. All of the painted eyes and mouths were smeared, and the secret tunnel wasn’t hidden. Though Ellen suspected that tunnel wouldn’t be the correct choice. But no smeary feature was distinguishable from any of the others. ‘Newborns are soft’… Ellen figured she’d crawl into the first one. THUMP…THUMP… Tiny spikes poked at her front, but they were round-topped. This ‘1-year-old’ tunnel had soft, baby teeth. This tunnel had a passage into the next-door tunnel, where a hammer was lain a few feet beside the spikes. Ellen found a note that said, They were just moved, so treat them well.

Ellen crawled back out to the hallway, and approached the third, formerly secret tunnel. Holding the hammer, she crawled inside, and used the tool to bash the spikes as they popped up. They didn’t come back up, so Ellen thought she hit them into submission. She crossed the tunnel without trouble and entered the 4th floor’s main room. Sir Catswell was once again waiting for her. “You know, if someone were watching us from a different angle, do you think I would be the ‘lovable companion’?”

This floor was exceptionally quiet, as usual. Ellen saw a note on the floor. Find your “Friend.” Thanks for the reminder, she remarked. Actually… Ellen suspected what that meant. She entered the left door first, to the room of four couches, two tables, and her pink music box. Before attempting anything, Ellen crossed to the door on the other side, finding another small diary room. She ignored the little bloody jack-in-the-box and read the Secret Diary.

Ellen went to read the note in the music box room. Keep both in sync. Both what? …Ellen had an idea. She went to bring the jack-in-the-box to this room, then she winded the music box. Doo… doo… doo-

‘Doink!’ Ellen popped the jack-in-the-box when the music reached that note. Actually, the music box was missing that note. Doo doo, doo doo… doo… doo- ‘Doink!’ The note came off the wall, revealing a crack with a paper sticking out slightly. When Ellen walked over, her snake friend stood up and pulled it out with his teeth. It was one page of notes. The music box continued playing, and the jack-in-the-box, which Ellen set on the floor, popped out at its respective notes. Ellen left the room and entered the door east of the center. The four colored paintings of Mona Lisa hung on the wall, and four jack-o-lanterns sat before them.

The note on the wall said, Create a harmony. On the parallel couches around the table of poker cards were brown, green, blue, and red eyes, like the painting women. Before attempting this, Ellen left and headed for the north room—the toy soldier stepped aside to let her pass, likely pleased that she solved the music box puzzle. Ellen entered the piano room, which was still as clean and shiny as ever, despite the ruin of this house. The bookshelf was still in place, and featured ‘Eye Studies’. Silver-haired women have red eyes, and brown-eyed women can have either blonde or red hair. Ellen remembered that. There was also a book about ‘Voice Studies’.

People have varied tones of voices. We know the following about women in this region. Black-haired women have a low voice, while green-eyed women can have a medium voice. Ellen returned to the Painting Room and collected the colored glass eyes from the couches. She placed the red eyes in the pumpkin beside the silver-haired woman, blue eyes in the black-haired woman’s pumpkin, brown-eyes for the red-haired, and green eyes for the blonde. (Though Ellen regrets not making a purple-haired woman with gold eyes, just for fun.) Click. The door between the paintings opened. But first:

The music box sounded all the way in this room, so Ellen would tap the pumpkins in order of notes. The blue-eyed pumpkin made the lowest sound, the green-eyed made the second-highest, the red-eyed made the highest, while the brown-eyed made the second-lowest. Ellen mimicked the first couple lines of the music box’s song, and once she tapped the correct order of notes, the pumpkins began to ‘tap’ their selves. The rhythm was perfect, and the note came off the wall so Ellen could collect the music sheet underneath. She then entered the- paddle-paddle-paddle-paddle. She looked back, seeing the stack of poker cards on the table suddenly scattered around it in perfect rows, face-up. She bypassed this and entered the door between the paintings.

A mirror, a clock, a man and woman statue, a chair, and a plant. Those were the options. The note stated, I start as liquid. I end as soil. What am I? Ellen wondered if she could make a bunch of guesses, but never be punished. This was an easy puzzle, even if she didn’t know the answer. Ellen walked in front of the mirror and pointed at herself. “I’m a human.”

…Correct! The room flashed. The man and woman statue stood on either side of the center. The note now read, Stand in the center and claim your prize. …Ellen wasn’t gonna fall for that. But who to fill the position? Ellen left the room and returned to the center—BOINK BOINK BOINK BOINK! The jack-in-the-box burst out of the other room, larger and more psychotic than ever, Ellen rushed back through the Painting Room—the pumpkins slid together to keep her from passing their gaps, but they didn’t slide a second time, so she ran around the new gap. She burst into the Riddle Room, around the statues, and the jack-in-the-box was crushed between them when it tried to ambush.

The note fell off, letting Ellen collect the music sheet. When she passed through the Painting Room, the rows of cards on the table now made an image of a shadowed cat’s head, slanted, blank green eyes, but Ellen didn’t care. She entered the Piano Room and aligned the four sheets (one was already on the piano) in order. The note on the wall said, Now play… Ellen sighed and sat on the stool. After all these years, she memorized the song. How could she forget…

3 years ago…

12-year-old Viola jogged to the enormous house in the woods. With her signature four knocks, the doors magically flew open. “Elleeeen. Where are you?”

“I’m in the dining room!” her friend called. Viola fast-walked in. A plate of grapes and steaming mashed potatoes were prepared for her. “I made you lunch!” Ellen said brightly.

“Hm hm, thanks! Happy Friendship Anniversary, Ellen.” They both sat at the table. Viola ate the food Ellen prepared for her, while Ellen settled on cabbage soup. “Um… Ellen?” Viola spoke with a regretful tone. “You aren’t still… mad about yesterday, are you?”

“Mad about what?”

“That, um… ‘Funny Story’ you showed me.” Viola looked at her potatoes. “Things felt a little tense between us after I told you what I thought. I wasn’t trying to keep you from liking it, but I’m… sorry if I offended you in any way.”

“Sheesh, you’re still worried about that?” Ellen laughed. “It’s just a book, Viola, quit being such a baby.”

Viola blushed, smiling slightly. “Heh heh… I-I’m just making sure. I really don’t want things to be awkward between us.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” Ellen smirked. “You must be wondering why I didn’t want you to get anything this time. You see, I wrote a song for you!”

“A song?”

“Yeah! I mean, it isn’t great, but… if you don’t like it, I guess you have the chance to feel awkward, too!”

“Well, okay!” Viola shrugged. “Will you sing it now?”

“Let’s finish eating first and go upstairs. I drank extra doses of medicine so my voice doesn’t crack.”

Ellen led Viola up to the 4th floor. Past the life-size toy soldier, they entered a large room with a single, shiny piano, and white light shining in through the windows. “Sit down, please.” Viola sat on the middle chair in a row, watching Ellen take her seat at the piano. She saw Ellen flip some music sheets. “The song is titled ‘Friend.’ I hope you like it.”

Viola smiled and nodded. She was very eager to hear what Ellen wrote. She never imagined Ellen could sing, or play piano. Maybe she couldn’t, but either way, Viola would appreciate the gift.

The notes were slow and gentle. Graceful and peaceful. Ellen’s eyes were closed in bliss, like the keys were pictured in her head. The first several seconds were notes, then there was a small pause. Ellen played again, and began to sing softly.

Aaaaall byyyy myself…

Waiting for aaaaa frieeeeend to come

Ellen had a beautiful voice. So this was what double doses of medicine gave her… knowing how much Ellen’s voice cracked, Viola couldn’t believe this was the same diseased girl.

My magic woooon’t heeeelp me now

Not until yooou… walk through the door

Please set me freeeee…

Ellen spun away from the piano, out of her seat, while the instrument played itself. The light from the windows grew brighter, gave the room a mystical blue tone.

Don’t be afraaaaiiiid…

Vases of flowers, books, and chairs flew about the room as Ellen danced softly, her bare feet moving gracefully across the floor.

I am alwaaays byyyy your siiiiide

She faced Viola, folded her hands over her chest, and opened them toward her friend.

Come now my frieeeee-eeeeeend!

Viola felt like she was entranced. She smiled, stood up from her chair, and approached Ellen. She stopped when the witch turned, and fell to her knees.

Deeeaaath’s sweeeeet embrace

Was once a giiiift I… yearned for

She rolled onto her back, arms and legs outstretched like she were on a grassy meadow.

But now that IIII haaaave found you

She lifted her head to face Viola. She raised a hand to her friend, and two little teddybears nudged Viola’s legs.

I don’t need Deeeaath: not anymooooore.

Come set me freeeeee

Viola helped Ellen to her feet, and both of them twirled around the floor like ballerinas on ice. Viola wondered if a spell was in place to make them so graceful, or if the spirit of their friendship was so much purer and lighter, they knew nothing else.

You’ll be okaaaaaaayyyy…

They held arms and happily danced under the beautiful sounds—the piano and Ellen’s voice.

I’ll keep you saaaaafe

So I beeeeeg:

They spun once more, faced each other up close, their arms still locked. Ellen sang her final note to the heavens as the light grew brighter.

Don’t go a-waaaaaaaayyyyyy

Frieeeeeeeeend!

The room returned to normal light, and the friends faced each other again. “Ellen, that was beautiful.” Viola said with awe. “That song, it’s so… poetic. You came up with all of that?”

“Yep. It’s all from the heart.”

“Wow, I… can’t even process it all.” Tears leaked from Viola’s eyes, glinting in the window light. “I never knew how much I meant to you.”

“You’re my whole world, Viola. You’re more than just my friend… you’re my… sister. Hm, I know the song is called ‘Friend,’ but in reality, it’s such a small word to describe it.”

“You know… you’re my sister, too.” Viola smiled. “I just think, after all these years, there’s no other way to describe it. We’re… connected.”

“I think we really are…”

Now

Ellen smiled at that memory. Tears leaked from Viola’s emerald eyes. She held her heart. That song… it all came from Ellen’s heart. Viola made her want something other than death… Viola gave Ellen hope… gave her a means of escape. She set Ellen free.

Ellen gasped, wiping the tears away. Viola never realized the song’s ultimate meaning… how she would have truly freed Ellen from her pain. That pain, and how Ellen planned to use Viola… that was the foundation of her song. Of course… she couldn’t lie to herself. Her love for Viola existed, too… if not for that, Ellen couldn’t have sung with her soul. She couldn’t have used the spell…

Well, Ellen completed the song, so she expected the door to open. …It didn’t. Confused, Ellen read the note again. YOU LIED.

Everything went black.

…

…

…

…

Ellen woke up in darkness. She sleepily looked at her hands under white sleeves and bare legs beyond her red dress—! She panicked, feeling her body. Her real body. Her heart raced. Where was she? How did this happen? How could it happen? Was she…

“Hello, Ellen.” She looked up. Viola was floating there with cold green eyes. In her normal body.

“Viola! How did you switch us back?!”

“We’re using our souls at the moment. Not our bodies. But if it’s really so confusing… I’ll help.” She waved her arm. Viola transformed into the hideous monster that was Ellen’s decaying body, and Ellen turned into a black and red form of Viola’s body. The very same way she looked in the sunset, when it happened.

“Viola, I want you to leave me alone!” Ellen shouted in Viola’s voice.

“You never wanted me to leave you alone before. I never wanted to leave you alone. But now you have no use for me, do you? I was your doorway. Your escape. Once you passed through me, there was no reason to go back.”

“What did you expect me to do, Viola?! You felt my pain, you could see into my head, you know what I did, you know what I was going to do. Tell me the truth, the minute I would’ve given your body back, would you have run away and never come back? Would you really want to COME back, knowing what I was going to do?”

“I guess you were right, Ellen. I was foolish. I thought you would learn from me, but I learned more from you. The word ‘friend’… is just a word. ‘Friends’ cannot heal diseases, but people can be used. That was always a reality I had denied, but you taught me the truth. A human’s only desire is to survive… you saw through with your desire, since the beginning. But I will not give up doing the same. GIVE MY BODY BACK.”

Ellen chuckled. “Even knowing what I did, you’re a terrible person in the end, Viola. In the end, I think you were just conceited. You pretended to be an angel on Earth, a body of pure light that would shine away the world’s darkness just by feigning kindness. All of that ‘love’ you showed me, it was all to make yourself feel pure, caring for someone who’s better left abandoned. In reality, you pitied me, you thought I was hideous, and a burden to have to come visit every day. But I should be glad you tried to hold that show until the end. Still, why should I give your body back to you? You hurt your own father AND your friends. I’ve been more respectful and a better friend than you ever were to them. I’m trying to put my past behind me and live my life.”

“IT’S MY LIFE TO LIVE!” The dimension shook. “YOU STOLE EVERYTHING FROM ME, you ungrateful demon! I want my body back so I can ERASE my mistakes, FOREVER! If you do not, I will always make you suffer. You will spend eternity in this house, and you will never see the light of day. Enjoy your existence… Ellen.” The darkness consumed them again.

Ellen felt tight forces around her wrists and ankles. The patter of roaches and rats were the only sounds. Ellen looked left, looked right, forced her head up to look front. Skeletons everywhere. But chain cuffs were around her ankles, her wrists were chained to the wall. She was on her back, facing the black sky above. She flinched and looked left. That skeleton looked closer. She whipped right. That one was closer. Same for the one in front. But they didn’t move when Ellen looked at them.

She noticed the one in front had chopsticks within its ribs. It was too far, though. Ellen looked left and right repeatedly so those skeletons would stay away. She kept looking at the front one until it was close enough. She could then angle the toes of her boots to catch the chopsticks between. Carefully, she swung her toes back to throw the chopsticks and catch them in her teeth. She quickly lifted and turned her head to stick them in her left arm’s cuff, fiddling around until it was loose. She grabbed the sticks and dug them in the right cuff, got loose, then sat up to unhook her ankles before the other skeletons got closer. She panted for breath and stood up, but before returning the chopsticks, she noticed her snake friend chained to a nearby rock with a tinier cuff. She could unhook him free, then politely returned the chopsticks to the skeleton’s ribs.

The exit out of this dungeon (which would lead to the kitchen) was close by, however it was sealed. Defeat the Gatekeeper, the note said. Ellen headed the opposite way, quick-walking around the piles of armless corpses, feeling bugs squish beneath her boots. She came to a huge chasm with piles of skeletons down below. On her right was a table, displaying a white bean and a dark-gray bean. The sign read, Earth or Air. Take your pick. They were two of Ellen’s Magic Beans, true. The white ones made the consumer like as a balloon, while the gray ones made them heavy as the earth. Both of them cancelled each other out, but if Ellen ate the Earth Bean, her body would become incomparably heavy. She would be totally defenseless, perfect matter for the skeletons to devour.

For now, she swallowed the white bean, and softly drifted up like a balloon. It may have been a good feeling, but if she drifted too high, the ceiling spikes would end her. She couldn’t take the gray bean with her because it would weigh her body down, and while she could cross the chasm this way, there was no gray bean on the other side. Ellen maneuvered herself to the top of a skeleton mountain, which had a ground path around its side, with an Earth Bean on a pedestal. She picked the bean up and ate it, letting her body regain normal weight.

Ellen trekked down the narrow hill, walking around when skeletons fell onto her path. She came to a long chasm with a lever at the other end. She didn’t think she could throw the snake that far, but Ellen realized she still had a hammer. With careful precision, she sent the tool hurling across, striking the lever. A bridge formed for the girl to cross, then she recollected the item. This route brought her to the other side of the previous chasm, and would eventually take her to a greater, deeper chasm.

A dark, otherworldly moaning echoed from the depths. A skeleton of tremendous proportion rose from the chasm, roaring at Ellen with foul breath. The armless giant attempted to snap Ellen in its teeth, but she ran aside and avoided. She discovered a table with an Air Bean, and quickly devoured the sweet to fly away, dodging its teeth again. There were four stone ledges sticking out from the skeleton piles, each possessing an Earth Bean. She grabbed the nearest one and sunk to the ground by its weight, but rather than eat it herself, she waited for the Gatekeeper to come at her open-mouthed. She dropped the bean, dodged away, and let him munch the bean. The incredible pressure flowed to him, but it wasn’t enough for his oversized body.

Ellen had to repeat this action with two more Earth Beans, and once he devoured them, his head was unable to lift off the ground. Ellen floated to and swallowed the fourth, remaining Earth Bean to disable her weightlessness. She hurriedly rushed up to the Gatekeeper and started bashing his skull with her hammer. Although giant, the bones were weak, and once the skull was battered enough, he collapsed into the chasm, never to rise again. Unfortunately, the hammer finally broke after all that use. Click. An unlocking sound.

The room shook. Ellen looked up. The spiked ceiling was descending. Ellen was about to rush back, but the snake HISSED and insistently pointed to a narrow passage between some skeletons. Ellen quickly glanced confused at her pet, then rushed that way. She found a roll of duct tape, while she didn’t understand why she needed, she grabbed it, then ran. She made it to the chasm, jumped down to a small ledge against its side, and ate an Air Bean. She floated across, and as she was ascending, she could grab the Earth Bean on the pedestal and eat it to regain weight. The skeleton mountains were crumbling beneath the spikes, she ran as the mountains’ bases were squishing and spreading onto her path. She bolted to the exit door and escaped—the three skeletons that kept her prisoner zipped over, but didn’t catch her.

The whole house rumbled when the ceiling crashed. Ellen held her racing heart, taking many breaths. She bypassed the smelly kitchen, went up the stairs, and navigated through the house until she made it to the 4th floor. She met the black cat in the central room. “Funny, I could’ve sworn you went that way.” He pointed. “Shortcut wasn’t available this time?”

Ellen sat on the floor to rest her legs. “I just met Viola… at least… I think..”

“Yes, I saw that. As part of the Switching Spell, you share not only minds, but also hearts. Fragments of the other person’s soul are left inside the body, as you already guessed. Viola feels your personality, you feel hers. And when feelings are strong, both of the hearts are able to communicate with each other. Even if one does not voluntarily do so.”

“So this… ‘compassion’ and ‘remorse’ I’ve been feeling for these…” She glanced at her snake, “things. It really is because of Viola. And Viola… she’s feeling my…”

“Of course, even that side-effect can’t just happen between two people. The two subjects of the spell really need to feel they share the same heart. So you and Viola really did take from each other’s character a little.”

Ellen shook her head. “Viola is still crazy, and she’s become a worse monster than I was. I still don’t understand how she’s alive. Didn’t you tell me that if a witch despairs, then she could die forever? That’s how I planned to get rid of her for good.”

“The feeling of ‘despair’ comes in many forms. Yes, as per my contract, I would not revive you if you despaired. But true despair comes with the purest, most heartaching remorse and regret a person can feel. A person regrets all of their life’s decisions, until their soul no longer wants to stay bound. Viola despaired because the person she trusted with her life played her like a card. The only regret she feels is regret for befriending such a person. Her soul, in those brief moments, drowned in rage. And that kind of rage… is far too hot to carry to the Underworld.”

“So, what are you saying? If I want to get rid of Viola, I have to make her feel regret?” There was a rise in Ellen’s voice. The cat detected a stutter. “Feel regret for… f-for hurting her own friends, for being so- . . . ?”

The cat glanced away. “If you think you can, then try. But now it sounds far easier to simply tell her off, make her understand that you just won’t give her body back, that she would live her half-life more peacefully if she just gave up.”

Ellen panted quietly to restore breath. She wasn’t sure where to draw on from there. With her snake still on her shoulder, Ellen stepped down the hall and into the Piano Room. For completing the song, the door had opened, bringing her to the dreary, blue room with the fallen woman statue. She remembered the duct tape she collected. Using (Viola)’s great strength, she grunted and hauled the statue back onto its perch. She held it there and used the tape to stick it back together. The spirit of a brown-haired woman in a white dress rose from the stone, smiling graciously at Ellen. “Thank you.” She faded.

There were cracks all around the walls. Ellen remembered the one that had a Diary Room, but Viola might’ve moved it. She had the snake slither into a tiny hole within the walls. It came out to confirm a crack on the west wall safe. She kicked it open and crawled inside. Every other spot was a chasm, but this one had the Secret Diary.

Ellen headed to the door in the upper-right. They took her upstairs, to the 5th floor hallway. The top floor of the house. Soon, she would reach her room, and confront Viola for real.

7 years ago…

“COUGH! KEH. KUEH!” Ellen sat on the couch and hacked blood. 8-year-old Viola sat beside her with worry.

“Ellen, do you need more medicine?”

“Sometimes- COUGH! They burn each other out… and it takes a while to take effect- KAH!”

Viola flinched and stepped away at that one. Ellen’s eyes were bulging, her face was grotesque. She looked at Viola with wide eyes, leaking blood. The posture Viola stood, her frightened eyes. “Hmph… why do you even come over here.” Ellen turned away.

“Whaddyou… mean?”

“I see that look you always give me… You pity me. You think I’m hideous. You wanted to scream at me back then, you won’t admit it, but you did.”

“No, that’s not true!” Viola stepped closer. “I think you’re-”

Ellen whipped around, scaring Viola with her action and appearance. Truthfully, Viola never imagined a 9-year-old having these kinds of symptoms. “You only come over here because you feel burdened. My image probably makes it hard for you to eat. You wouldn’t come over here if you didn’t think you were hurting my feelings.”

“Ellen…” Viola felt hurt inside.

“What- cough? It isn’t true? You’ll only look at me after my potion works.” She lied on the couch and curled up. “But it won’t work for a while, so you should just leave.”

“You don’t… want me to leave, do you?”

“Go ahead, I won’t mind. I don’t want you to stay out of pity.”

Viola furrowed her eyes. She marched up to her friend and clamped her rusty leg. “Okay, fine. I do feel sorry for you and I wanna stay to comfort you. Why is that so bad? Am I not allowed to try to help someone I care about?”

Ellen huffed to herself and turned her face against her hands folded on the cushion. “Ellen, I hate your disease, too. I might not have it, but I hate it because it’s hurting you. It’s making life painful for you. I want to help you feel better, I wanna help you and make things easier. Ellen, you’re my friend and I love you, you can call it ‘pity’, but… would you rather I not come over here and ignore you completely?”

Ellen bent her fingers, clutching an imaginary force. “Ellen, look at me.” She turned toward the cushion again. “Ellen, please?”

Ellen released a sigh. Ellen turned her face up, looking in Viola’s honest green eyes. The blonde-haired softly touched Ellen’s face. She rubbed around, over her mouth, nose, and eyes. She got little droplets of blood and mucus on her fingers. With her left hand, Viola felt around Ellen’s legs. So skinny… so shriveled… so hard. They felt like thin, rugged stones. Like her face. “…You’re really pretty, Ellen.”

“Hmm.” Ellen glanced away, scornfully.

“I mean it. You’re beautiful, no matter how sick you are. You have pretty eyes, and pretty hair… and you’re so nice and so fun. I’m sorry if I react how I do, but I don’t wanna leave. I wanna keep coming over and… looking at you.”

A bloody tear leaked from Ellen’s left eye. The witch sat up and hugged Viola. The braided child smiled and returned the hug. The blood and mucus wiped off on the back of Ellen’s dress. It didn’t matter if she pitied her, or thought she looked gross… Viola loved Ellen. Because they were friends…

These two floors were always my favorite. The song “Friend” was written by AmaitoFuu, you can find him on YouTube. A lot of people sang or made videos featuring the song. Next time, we will venture the 5th floor. Until then.

Chapter Text

Well guys, it’s Chapter 5, so it’s time to venture the 5th and final floor. This floor had my favorite music; really emotional, I think.

6 years ago; after Ellen’s birthday

“You know, Ellen, I just thought of something.” Viola said as she and Ellen walked up the house’s stairways without shoes. “We’ve known each other for three years, and we never told each other our last names.”

“Really? Hm… I never noticed.”

“Yeah. Maybe we should. I mean, we’d know each other much better, right? Why shouldn’t we?”

“My last name is kind of… weird.” Ellen blushed.

“Okay, then I’ll give mine first. My last name is… Somershire.”

“Kmm.” Ellen chuckled. “That is a weird name.”

“So tell me yours!”

Ellen looked away, smiling softly. “…It’s Wickens.”

“Wow, really? Is your whole family magic?”

“No, it’s just a name. My parents abandoned me because I was magic, anyway. I used to have old photos of cousins and relatives. We’re more noticeable for our purple hair.”

“Purple hair is a hard thing to come by.” Viola lightly brushed Ellen’s hair. “I don’t think I see many people with golden eyes, either.”

“I have a book about Eye Studies.” Ellen looked at Viola, her catlike eyes narrowed as she wore a humorous smile. “Maybe you should do some research.”

“Maybe I will.” Viola grinned. “So where are we going, again?”

“Outside.” Ellen faced forward.

“Ellen, outside is downstairs!”

“Not in my house.” Ellen said as they crossed a hallway of stained glass windows. “Wait until you see it.” She opened a door, passed a small room with four colored dolls, and they were there.

The noontime sun hit Viola’s face, made her golden hair sparkle. They were on the mansion’s roof, she assumed. A garden flourished here, lush green grass growing from soil. They walked down a narrow path with archways of blood-red roses to enter the main garden. An elder tree stood in the center and appeared very ripe, all of its leaves in place, its bark solid and sturdy. A patch of white flowers grew before it, rose bushes filled the corners, dark-green moss on the walls. To her left was a table of coffee and cakes, to her right, red grasses breezed beside a door. Viola felt a shadow pass over her, and looking at the ground, she saw the winged shadow of a bird flying over the tree in circles. But when she looked at the sky, there was no bird, only clouds and sun.

“Ellen… this is beautiful. How did you make all of this?”

“This is nothing, really. It’s child’s play with the extent magic can do.”

The fresh scents of many flowers and flora filled Viola’s nose. She wiggled her toes between the soggy grass, embracing the nature of this garden. There was something odd about the feel, though. “This grass… it doesn’t feel like any I know. …” She looked at the roses. She approached a bush and gently felt its petals. “These roses, too. They’re…”

“Of course they’re not real plants. Everything is magically made.” Ellen said. “All the plants are tied to my emotional state. The garden only flourishes when I’m calm or happy. When I’m sad, things wilt… when I’m sick, they die. …They’ve been flourishing a lot, lately.”

Viola turned and shared a smile with her. The sun’s rays were directly overhead, blinding the top of their vision. “Come on, meet the flowers.” Ellen led Viola to the table where the yellow flowers sat; they appeared to be moving and chatting amongst their selves. “The yellow flowers are really sociable. They’re kind of conceited, but I use the pollen as ingredients for my medicine.”

“My, Dear, what lovely arms you have.” a flower said to Viola. “Ellen always told us how strong you look, I say, they’re almost as flawless as we are.”

Viola flushed, looking at her arms. They were bigger than Ellen’s, but she wouldn’t think herself ‘strong.’ “The red grasses over here know lots of things. The problem is they’re always lying.” Ellen led Viola to these grasses.

“25 doesn’t have a square root.” a grass said.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m certain it was either 6 or 7.” another grass argued.

“A number can have two square roots, of course.” the third grass noted.

Viola giggled. Ellen brought her to the elder tree. “This is the elder tree. He’s pretty smart, too. Ask it something.”

“Hi, Mr. Elder Tree.” Viola said politely. “Do you have any advice for me?”

“Hmmm… oh, yes. Knowing math may benefit you in the future.”

Both girls laughed. They looked down at the white flowers. “The white flowers are my favorite. If you sprinkle them with water, their petals glow, great for lighting. …Just be careful when handling it.”

“I scratch, you know.” A white flower commented.

“Okay, I will.” Viola smiled. “…Ellen, what’s with that bird shadow?”

“Well, that’s my Shadow Bird! I use him to eat weeds and stuff. Not that I don’t have a hand in their creation.” Ellen twirled her finger, making blades of grass grow higher on either side of Viola. The latter looked wondrously as they tied around her braids, making it seem as though she grew from the ground. Ellen giggled at the sight, shrinking the grass down to normal.

Viola felt a tickling on her feet. She looked down, seeing a group of ants skittering over them. “If those ants are bothering you, I can get rid of them.” Ellen said.

“No, don’t!” Viola sat on the ground, letting a little ant crawl on her finger. She smiled as it trekked across her arm. “I think ants are cute. Sometimes, I wish I was an ant. They have such a unique view on the world.”

Well, Ellen smirked in thought, if it was her wish, then may she be the genie. She cast magic over Viola, and the braided girl shrunk below the grass in an instant. “Waaaaoooh!” At first, she had no idea where she was, some kind of thick jungle. Then Viola gasped: a group of ants, the size of horses, crept up to her. “Nnnnn-” She frightfully backed up, jumping with a start when she bumped into another ant. She was surrounded. “Ellen! H-Help!”

“It’s all right.” Viola looked up. Ellen towered miles over the grass jungle, smiling at her friend. “They’re under my control. They won’t hurt you as long as I’m around.”

An ant nudged Viola with its head. She smiled and petted them softly. Viola climbed onto one of their backs, riding like a horse while Ellen telepathically commanded them. The witch bent down and let the ant crawl onto her right finger, then she lifted them up. Ellen raised her left hand to catch a little, orange butterfly. “Wanna go for a ride?” she asked, holding the butterfly under her other hand.

The butterfly’s wings were down and straight, awaiting its passenger. “Is it… safe?” Viola asked.

“You trust me, don’t you?”

Big or small, Viola thought, she trusted Ellen greater than anyone. “Of course.” She climbed off the ant and onto the butterfly’s back. On Ellen’s command, the butterfly flapped its wings and took off into the air. Though the speed was relatively slow and light, the ant-size Viola felt the rush of the wind against her features. Soaring over miles of jungle in seconds, alongside the rose bushes, across the yellow flowers’ garden (boy, that giant cake looked good), and up into the elder tree’s leaves. Beetles and spiders crittered about. Few rays of sunlight poked within, but they were all huge rays at Viola’s size.

Ellen was seated back against the tree, under the shade, peacefully controlling the butterfly. She let the bug flutter before her, and Ellen could see the wonder and sunny amazement on Viola’s tiny face. She let the butterfly land on her left foot, letting Viola climb down and to the ground. Ellen grew Viola back to normal size, the latter watching with delight as the butterfly flew away. Viola sat beside her friend under the tree. “Ellen… your powers are so amazing.” Viola spoke with awe.

“Please, they’re no big deal.” Ellen replied modestly.

“Yes they are! Ellen, your magic can do anything if you wanted to. I wish I had magic, too, there are so many great things I could do!” Her emerald eyes gazed at the sky, lost in fantasy over the idea of having powers. “End world hunger… grow fresh, pure vegetables, no one would have to eat meat, save millions of animals… and best of all, no—” She stopped herself. Viola looked at Ellen with a regretful frown. “…No sickness.”

“…” Ellen smiled. “Uh-oh, serious world-conqueror right here, don’t give this girl powers.”

Viola giggled. “Ellen… if I had magic, I really would focus everything in curing your illness. Are you… really sure you can’t do it yourself?”

“My magic already has limits outside the house, and I can’t use spells on myself much, either. I’ve been trying to find a cure, but… well, it isn’t easy.”

“I hope you find one someday.” Viola spoke softly. “Your powers could save the world, Ellen. You could…You could be a hero to everyone.”

Ellen looked down, smiling at the silly fantasy. A person like her… saving the world. Being a hero. “Viola, you have too bright an opinion about everything.”

“Not true. I hate killing, I hate meat, I hate sadness-”

“That’s my point. You’re way too sweet for your own good.” Ellen smiled humorously.

“M-Maybe… but I really believe you have potential, Ellen. If anyone else knew that potential, no one would…”

She saw Ellen frown. The subject of her going outside was touchy to her. Viola smiled and changed the subject. “Um, Ellen… is there a special place we could… write something?”

“Like… the elder tree?”

“Well, I didn’t wanna hurt it.”

“Don’t worry about it. He won’t feel pain as long as I’m in control.”

Minutes later, the girls had fallen asleep under the tree. Leaning against the other… Viola’s hand over Ellen’s. Ellen inscribed something on the tree. Something that would last forever.

Present time; 5th floor

Ellen limped slowly across Floor 5’s hallway. Her head ached, and her heart. Viola’s heart… These flashbacks came out of nowhere, and when Ellen began thinking about them, she couldn’t stop herself. She couldn’t focus on puzzles while they were in motion, so she stood around for several minutes to let them pass. She was able to go for two years without hardly thinking about Viola, why was she all over her mind now? Oh, she had to remember, it was Viola’s brain she possessed. Viola had so many memories of this house, of Ellen. So many warm and happy moments…

Okay, Ellen admits it. Viola may have pitied Ellen, but the love Viola felt for her friend was real, not Viola’s way of feeling like an angel. She cared for Ellen out of love and came over almost every day. If that hadn’t been true, the Switching Spell never could’ve worked. And Ellen was so grateful, she had formed a true friendship with Viola. …Ugh. Ellen sat back against the wall close to the door. Her mind and heart were whirling like a maelstrom. Before she even took one step into the garden, she had to get herself back in order. For seven years, she grew up with Viola. For seven years, their friendship prospered, they had warm moments, and tense moments, they were spiritual sisters. Ellen truly loved Viola. But it was all part of her plan.

Greater than that love was Ellen’s pain. Her parents didn’t love her, they practically thought she was invisible. Ellen killed her mother first. Her father didn’t care. He was ignorant to his demon daughter. So she killed him, too. Then she met the demon. Formed a contract. Ellen became a witch. She was officially a soulless monster. But deep down, Ellen told herself that wasn’t true. For those following centuries, Ellen wanted someone to love. Be away from her pain and her past, forever. She wanted to use the Switching Spell for a very long time. But all of the children and adults screamed at her, so she killed them. Her soul became more tarnished with each death. Then, she met Viola.

It was all Ellen’s plan. Develop a friendship with Viola, be able to trust her, while she trusts back, but always remember, the pain Ellen was consumed in. Hacking, coughing, wheezing, the potion got weaker with age, Ellen had to act soon, because she couldn’t take it anymore. Her love for Viola would finally find its ultimate use. Their trust for each other allowed them to trade bodies. Then seeing Viola, so helpless and fragile in her old body… she took pity on her. But most important was, Ellen finally had what she wanted: a perfect, healthy body, friends and a father that loved her. It didn’t matter how grateful Ellen was to Viola for everything, it didn’t matter how much Viola loved her. Because she could have all the love she wanted, and no one would ever know.

Is Ellen really so selfish? What person wouldn’t want the internal warmth of friends and family, and perfect health? Ellen tried to help Viola too, by killing her with despair, she could go on in peace. But she didn’t. Ellen didn’t think Viola would understand her argument, that’s why she never explained. But perhaps… she should have. Ellen had to settle this. She had to find Viola and tell her why she did what she did, that Ellen wanted a normal life with friends and family, that was her only way of doing so, and Viola could go on in peace if she just accepts it. And if Viola didn’t accept it… then she really is selfish.

Ellen entered the small room with four tables of dolls. …The red doll was designed like Elizabeth, the blue doll was designed like April May, the green doll like Viola, and the purple doll like Ellen. The note said, One of these does not belong. Ellen rolled her eyes and ripped the head off her doll. Because one of these should die, she remarked internally. Hm, they could write a song about that. The door opened, so Ellen entered the garden. Like everything else in the mansion, Ellen expected the plants and grass to be in a state worse than death, the beauty and marvel of her garden soiled beyond repair by Viola’s hatred.

Her garden was more beautiful than ever. So many new flowers populated the grass, primarily violas. They smelled so lovely. A bright, golden sun, which Ellen was certain was an illusion, shone over the world. The white flowers were still around the elder tree. Ellen wondered how the other flowers were doing. Ellen entered the left room: the yellow flowers were fearfully polishing the grandfather clock in the back. “Keep the Keeper happy! The Keeper of Time must not be filthy!” a flower spoke with fear. Ellen entered the Diary Room—a sword flew at her, she stepped out, let it stick through the door. Ellen reentered the room and read the Secret Diary.

The triplet beds in the room were still bloody. There was no skull under the nightstand, but rather a note. It’s allergic to pollen. Ellen returned outside and saw that the north route – the Gas Room was open. The note beside it said, Go for a ride? Before going into the Gas Room, Ellen headed to the east, prison wing. Two of the red grasses were still hanging by nooses, with one of them fallen. That fallen one said, “The Keepers are not connected.” Ellen wanted to open the right prison cell, but she realized the skeleton prisoner was still pressed to the barred door; since the wall he was shackled to had attempted to crush Ellen when she wandered in here last time. A sign next to it read, He wants to use the toilet.

So many things to do, Ellen thought. She entered the left cell and found a bottle of glue, on the spot where the glass shoes used to be. Ellen recognized this as a magic glue that could fix any broken object. Ellen left the cell—a bloody handprint plopped on the wall, with text. It can’t fix everything, can it? Ellen sighed in annoyance. However, she had an idea what this could be used for. She returned to the tea party room, and opened the door to the dark hallway. She had a feeling she could use the glue to fix the bottle she dropped in here last time. However, she still needed a light to carry in here; and some gloves to pick up the glass.

She searched the garden outside and found a pair of gardening gloves beside a rose bush. She headed back to the prison wing, following the route to the Skull Room. She peeked through the barred door to that room: the skulls were… rolling around in a pool of pollen. They sure were enjoying their selves. Ellen moved aside pieces of the nearby broken pot and found a lantern. She returned to the dark hallway, holding the lantern in her gloved hands, and found the broken jar on the floor. Ellen set the lantern down and hurriedly glued the broken glass back together—she felt that a face was staring from the darkness, but when she looked up, nothing.

She took the lantern and jar and escaped the dark room. The first place she thought about heading: the water room. As expected, the water was still red with blood. Ellen let that blood flow into the jar. She then carried the jar to the skeleton against the jail door, pouring the blood down his “throat.” The skeleton’s nonexistent stomach gurgled, and the hall trembled when his wall moved backward. Ellen entered the cell to find the skeleton and his wall gone. A chamber pot that has seen better days rested among the dust. From its ruin, Ellen collected a green Gas Bean.

Ellen remembered this should only be eaten after eating a Shrink Bean; even then, she needed a good place to… well, best not think about that. Ellen put the bean in her satchel and this time headed to the Gas Room. Immediately she clamped her mouth shut—the toxic gas was everywhere. Ellen stepped out to reclaim her breath, then peeked in briefly. It seems a maze was carved within the gas clouds covering the floor. Ellen held her breath and quickly maneuvered this maze. In the very center was a sign that stated, FAR IN THE FOREST. Ellen hurriedly returned outside to catch her breath. Then she ran back through the maze, instinctively checking the bookshelves. She found a book titled The Greedy Skulls.

Once, there was a soldier who kept extra food and provisions for his otherwise greedy comrades. He secured the provisions in a hiding place that only he knows. He awaits the day someone will find and distribute his food when the time comes. Starting from the northwest of the fortress, he went south, west, north, north, southeast, northeast, west, south.

Well, this was obvious. Ellen rushed back to the Skull Room, seeing the little monsters happy to dig in their pollen. Each of them faced a compass direction. If Ellen attempted to take a skull with her, she would surely be eaten alive; so one of them must’ve been friendly. Starting with the northwest-most skull, on its right was a skull facing south. Below that, a skull facing west. Down-left of that, a skull facing north. Below that, another facing north. Right of that, a southeast skull. Above, a northeast skull. Down-right, a west skull. One more right, a south skull. Ellen safely picked that one up, and wasn’t attacked. Ellen returned down the passage, and saw that another of the red grasses fell down from its noose. She approached, and its advice was, “The Keeper feeds between noon and dusk.”

So the Keeper feeds on either noon or dusk. ‘Guess Ellen would have to risk a life. She returned to and finally began her journey through the Dark Room. It was as quiet and somewhat terrifying as last time, with blood stains on the walls—one of the stains was a face, but when Ellen passed, it morphed into a normal stain. Ellen followed the route to the Keeper of Time—a little wristwatch under the desk. It was set at 12, but… that was too easy. Ellen couldn’t touch the clock, either, so she wandered around the dark hall to wait it out. She passed the area of headless statues to the small room where the jade pipe was previously located. In its place was a book titled Worlds Beyond Our Own, by Alexander Pines.

Convoluted research by scientists in New Oakland has led to the discovery of supernatural anomalies in the area. They have theorized the existence of alternate dimensions leaking into this one, but have come up with little proof. It is our job as scientists to conduct further research on this theorem.

When did Ellen ever have this book? She put it away and fast-walked back to the wristwatch—the statues now had bloody skull heads. The wristwatch was still at 4:00, so… Ellen hated doing this. She walked up to the corner where two coffins lay. The coffins of her dead parents. There they were, still in slumber, skeletons. Ellen put them far back in here where she could rarely look at them. She had no remorse for her parents, never would. She saw a note on the wall that said, BROKEN FAMILY.

Ellen returned to the wristwatch—she heard one of the lids of the coffins come off. She fast-walked to and saw the wristwatch on 6, so she used the skull to spit pollen onto it. Wondering if it did anything, Ellen turned and headed—“UAAAAAAHHH!” The filthy, decaying corpse of Ellen’s mother limped after her quickly, Ellen bolted through the darkness, navigated the passage, and successfully made it through the exit. Ellen gasped for breath, and hearing the sounds of furious beatings, Ellen saw that the yellow flowers were attacking an ill, discolored grandfather clock.

“MAKE HIM SUFFER! NO MERCY!” a flower screamed.

“Before his powers return!” another declared.

“Gouge his stomach!” another followed.

Lovely to a fault is an understatement, thought Ellen. But since they would gouge his stomach, Ellen walked up and opened the clock’s door. She got the pink Shrink Bean inside. With this, she only knew one way to go: Ellen walked outside, got beside the elder tree, and ate the bean. The ultimate sour taste overcame her before she shrunk to beetle size. Her loyal snake companion carried Ellen on his back, slithering up the side of the elder tree. But when he got to its branches, he had to stop, for fear of the sleeping Shadow Bird above.

Ellen could cross sub-branches like bridges to get to other branches, and also used the rugged side of the tree like a ladder. She couldn’t go too far when a green vine suddenly sprouted up in her path. There was writing carved in the tree, which said, It rules this domain. Must’ve meant the white flower down below. Ellen spotted a huge boulder – really a small rock from normal perspective – stationed on the gap between two branches. Since Ellen was on the higher branch, she struggled to push it with what reduced strength her body now possessed. Thankfully, it was enough to send it rolling down the other branches, and crush the white flower below.

The vine blocking her path retracted, letting Ellen climb a ladder to a higher level of branches. Spider webs were woven with their owners waiting patiently for food. One of the webs was woven over the gap between two branches, with another boulder seated on it. Ellen walked to the tip of the branch to pluck a pointed twig free, then used it to unhook one of the latches of the web. Now unbalanced, the boulder could fall through and crush the flower again. Another vine retracted, letting Ellen rush up a stairway of short branches. This next level of the elder tree was composed of leaves that Ellen could jump across, supporting the weight of her small size.

Ellen found a boulder at the end of the route, beginning to push it across the leaves until she was above the white flower. Of course, the leaves wouldn’t support the boulder easily; she noticed certain leaves were drooping, meaning they had no leaves below them, so Ellen took care to push the rock over many stacked leaves. In the spot that was directly above the white flower, she pushed and allowed the stone to fall through an unsteady patch of leaves, crushing the plant for good. With the last vine retracted, Ellen could climb up to the nest where the Shadow Bird rested. Although she couldn’t see it, its shadow was in slumber, and Ellen felt its solidity. She climbed onto the invisible bird’s back, and whisked across the garden, over the Gas Room, and landed… in the forest.

Ellen expected to be taken to the small area of garden after the Gas Room, but in its place, it seems a bustling forest covered this area. The leaves were a lush green, and the sky was a bright gold. It seemed Viola had truly mastered the manipulation of the house’s dimensions, having created an entire forest on this floor. The Shadow Bird landed, so Ellen climbed off, believing this was the right time to eat the Gas Bean. A route to the right led to an outhouse, so Ellen ate the Gas Bean, puffed to normal size, and rushed for the outhouse while her insides were bubbling. …The rest went without saying.

Ellen found the black cat seated on a stump. “So did you ever figure out what a ‘friend’ is?” he questioned. A short distance forward, Ellen found a Secret Diary.

Ellen began to explore the peaceful forest, going left, right, left, frontward, right, but she almost always ended up at the diary. Clearly this forest was so expansive because it looped. However, one of the accidental routes brought her to an enclosing with a rock that depicted a butterfly. The sign beside it read, She crossed many continents searching for her loved one. First the arctic, then Asia, the desert, the Indian Ocean, up the Prime Meridian, and finally the Pacific. Ellen guessed that these were compass directions. Well, the arctic was up north, Asia was east, the desert was hot, so it must be south, Indian Ocean was east, she went north up the “Prime Meridian”… the Pacific was west of her continent, but if she was just at Indian Ocean, she headed east.

Ellen found a beautiful garden of colorful butterflies. The sign said, Who do you trust the most? The reddish butterfly looked like Viola’s father, Travis. The pink butterfly reminded her of Elizabeth. The blue one resembled April. The black one resembled the cat. And the orange one… well, this puzzle was obvious. However, just for fun, Ellen chose to go with the green butterfly, not immediately recognizing it. It led Ellen on an order of compass directions through the forest, until she was brought to an enclosing with a hole the width of a snake. Ellen knew the very creature that goes here… she unfortunately didn’t have him with her.

Ellen returned to the butterfly garden, deciding to complete this puzzle by following the orange butterfly. The one that resembled Viola… the one she trusted the most. Even in the current circumstances. She assumed every other butterfly would lead her to some form of hilarious death that connects with the respective person. The orange butterfly’s road was calm, but Ellen saw many holographic visions on the way. Viola was eating the lovely breakfast Ellen prepared for her… Viola got Ellen a new pair of red shoes… Ellen laughed when Viola tried each Magic Bean… Ellen wrote a song for Viola… Viola tickled Ellen while she wasn’t looking… Viola hugged Ellen lovingly-

Ellen shook her head. She had to focus on the butterfly and ignore these visions. The butterfly finally led her to a lone elder tree, where a hologram of Viola and Ellen sleeping together sat, before they faded. The butterfly rested itself on the tree, where the words were still inscribed on the bark.

And behind the tree, half-buried in the soil, was an old family portrait. Taken 300 years ago. The glass was broken, the photo dusty. Mother… Father… and Baby Ellen. She sighed to herself and took the photo—when she walked away, the butterfly briefly displayed a projection of a tall woman, with blonde hair and green eyes, smiling. Ellen made it to the start of the forest and headed south, entering a door to the room for her infamous collection of medicines. As expected, all the medicines for Ellen’s eyes were destroyed. In fact, all of the medicines were heavily tarnished. It seemed Viola was blind to everything else except her hatred. However, one jar was still intact. The Throat-Burning Acid, one of the instigators of the entire event. Ellen chose to take this. She then crossed the small garden of rose bushes, where a Secret Diary was still placed.

Ellen still had the glue bottle, so she knew what was to come next: she held her breath, opened the door to the Gas Hall, and quickly began gluing the pieces of the shattered glass slippers back together. She put the shoes on afterward, and was able to rush through the cloud of gas. She made it to the exit, and reunited with her little snake. The snake hid under Ellen’s dress while the girl raced through the hallway again, past the Medicine Room, and to the forest. Ellen found the butterfly garden and followed the green one to the snake hole. She set the snake on the ground, giving him a warm smile, while the snake smiled back. She was almost sad to watch it crawl into the tiny hole. He had found his home.

It made Ellen think about the little froggy. Sacrificed before he had a chance to find home. At least she was able to apologize… Wait, why did she start thinking about this? She was so close to ending this whole thing, so close to having Viola off her… How would she get Viola to leave her alone? Right, she would explain to Viola how she just wanted friends and family that loved her. Of course, Viola loved her. But then—that wasn’t enough. Viola should be glad that Ellen is happy, that she has so many more people that care about Viola—I mean, her. Er… Ellen held her head after making it across the Gas Hall. She was certain she had her argument figured out, but now she had a headache.

Ellen focused on the current task of navigating the Dark Room to find her parents’ coffins. Mother was still uncovered. The woman that didn’t love her. Ellen placed the photo on the small desk between both coffins. Her father’s coffin opened, and Ellen collected the lighter from his dead hand. As she backed away, she saw… her 7-year-old self. Young, sad, bulging eyes, bloody bare legs, letting a teddybear dangle from her right hand. She looked up at Ellen’s emerald eyes, wiping a tear from her left eye. Why was the child so sad? That Ellen had killed her parents before they ever had a chance to express their love? Before she had the chance to…

Ellen turned and quickly walked out of the Dark Room, to the garden. What was she thinking? Her parents didn’t love her, nobody ever did until she stole Viola’s body. Wait, no, of course, Viola—that didn’t matter now! It didn’t matter that Viola wasn’t afraid of her, that Viola helped get her medicine, that Viola… wanted Ellen to be happy. Ellen shook her head—her mind was swimming with thoughts of the golden-haired beauty. She fought to quit thinking about her, about how wonderful and lovely… Ellen huffed with anger, going to sit beside the elder tree. She couldn’t control herself. She had to get around these memories, now or never.

2 years ago; three days before their anniversary

Viola and Ellen sat on opposite ends of the couch. They faced away from each other, their faces bored, glum, and thoughtful. “Do you want to… shrink down and ride the butterfly?” Ellen asked.

“It loses its appeal after a while.” Viola replied tonelessly.

“Oh. …Do you want to… ride the music sheets upstairs?”

“It’s kind of cramped…”

“Oh.” Ellen looked down.

Viola glanced to the window on her right. It was very sunny out. “…Ellen…” She sighed and turned around, “I would really love it if you come outside with me.”

“I have a garden on the roof, I go outside all the time.”

“I mean really outside, out of this house. It’s so beautiful out there, and there’s so many things we can do. Climb the trees, walk in the river… go into town…”

“Viola, you keep telling me ‘all the things we can do outside.’” Ellen spoke defensively. “I keep telling you, I don’t want to.”

Viola huffed and stood up angrily, “Why not? Ellen, why are you so afraid to go outside?! Because you can’t use magic as well? Your disease is getting worse? Ellen, nothing bad is going to happen to you out there. No one is gonna wanna hurt a little girl just because she’s sick, or…or has powers. You may be a witch, but you’re not a monster, Ellen, and people need to realize that.”

“I’ve gotten by just fine in this house on my own, and I already have you to visit me!” Ellen argued.

“Aren’t you sick of me?! Aren’t you sick of this house?! Why can’t you come outside for something different? A walk through the forest, meeting my friends, meeting the town. Ellen, if the townspeople got to know you, got to know the REAL you, instead of an evil ‘witch,’ then they would understand that they were wrong. I know you’re sick, I know this won’t help your disease, but it can help you. If you only understood that having more than one friend is a wonderful feeling.” Ellen gritted her teeth and clutched her fingers. “If THEY understood that the Witch they’re so afraid of isn’t a monster. Just like…Just like in my book.”

Ellen punched the back of the couch; albeit a weak punch. She huffed and stood up to face Viola. “Nobody is like you, Viola.” She spoke with a stutter. “You’re the only person that would ever come visit me every day. You’re the only person that isn’t afraid, that isn’t disgusted by me, the only person that could… tolerate me.” Bloody tears leaked from her eyes. Ellen turned away. “You just don’t understand that most people are cruel. They would hate me for what I am. I’m better off staying in this house…”

Viola sighed in disappointment. She approached and touched Ellen’s shoulder. “That’s not true at all. Yes, there are mean people, but there’s plenty of good people, too. And the people of New Oakland would love Ellen for who she is inside. No matter if you’re a witch or ill. Everyone would accept you. But… if I’m wrong… if they really can’t get past your powers and love you for you… then I’ll protect you.” The stutter in her voice didn’t mean this was a hard thing to say. Rather, Viola would hold very true to her word. “I’ll protect you from anyone that tries to hurt you. If it takes my life, I will always defend you. Even if you don’t want me to, you can trust that I will.”

More tears fell from Ellen’s face. She trembled. She believed every word… she did trust Viola… she would always trust Viola… and she was so thankful for her friendship and loyalty. Ellen turned to face her. “On our Friendship Anniversary. I’ll go outside with you.”

“You will? Even if you’re… sick?”

“I’ll make it work. One way or another, I will go outside. I promise.”

Viola smiled with pure pride and gratitude. She hugged Ellen close. “Thank you, Ellen. I promise you won’t regret it.”

Now…

Ellen held true to her promise, of course. She did go outside with Viola. As Viola. She didn’t regret it. She could finally leave her old life behind, with a father and friends that loved…

“No ‘buts’ Viola, now eat your steak.” Her father told Ellen.

“Thanks for helping me stack the hay, Viola!” April said to Ellen gratefully. “Ya know, Ah told mah daddy yer arms’re stronger than his, but he ain’t believe me!”

“Oh, Viola, it was only an accident.” Elizabeth told Ellen, weeks after the latter smashed Eliza’s ice-sculpture city by accident. “I can’t stay mad at you forever!”

“How’s my big strong girl doing today?” Her father greeted her one morning, ruffling Ellen’s golden hair.

“I love you, Daddy…”

“I love you too, Viola.”

…They loved Viola. They always loved Viola. They only knew Ellen as the Witch, or the diseased girl who was killed by the Witch. But what did Ellen expect? No one would love her if they knew the truth. That Ellen was a monster who betrayed her best friend. Her best friend who…

“What’s wrong, Viola?” Ellen asked when her 7-year-old friend came over one day.

“I got in a fight with Elizabeth.” Viola spoke with puffed cheeks. “She’s not sharing her new toy with me. …Ellen, will you come with me to Elizabeth’s and turn her into a frog?” she requested bubbly.

Who came to her house almost every day…

11-year-old Viola and 12-year-old Ellen lay bored on the triplet beds. Both laid perpendicular and sprawled across, Viola’s head beside Ellen’s feet, and Ellen beside Viola’s feet. None of them could think of anything to do. But it was nice to mellow out in such a silly fashion. Stare at the ceiling. Feeling fresh air of the open window. “I have a couple fantasy novels, wanna read them?” Ellen asked.

“Okay.”

Her friend that loved Ellen for who she was…

Ellen snapped her fingers and turned Viola into many animals. A cat that brushed against Ellen’s bare legs. A froggy that hopped off Ellen’s head. A pig that rolled around in the garden’s grass. A little butterfly that landed on the tip of Ellen’s nose, gave the teeniest peck with her little mouth, and flew off before Ellen changed her back.

Ellen clenched her lower lip with her teeth. She clutched her chest in her left hand. She fought to repress the tears. She looked at her strong arms… her sturdy legs… the gold braids on either side. No… they were Viola’s. Everybody loved Viola. Not Ellen. She tried and tried to forget Viola, but it was impossible—not if that was who she was pretending to be. Who everyone thought she was. Nobody knew she was a witch, that she was sick, nobody knew her true motives. But then again, neither did Viola. Because Ellen so expertly kept up the sham for seven years. Viola never knew about the demon, thought Ellen’s murders were on “accident,” never expected Ellen to be playing her all this time. Because Viola had everything Ellen wanted. Now Ellen had it from her.

Ellen’s parents never loved her. Tried to ignore her. Viola’s father cooked her breakfast and dinner every day. Every kid screamed at Ellen’s powers and hideous appearance. Elizabeth and April loved hanging out with Viola. Viola cared for Ellen. Viola loved playing with Ellen. She wanted Ellen to meet her friends and meet the town. She believed they could love Ellen for who she was. Her friends and the town do love Ellen, now. No… she was Viola. They still loved Viola. Ellen was dead. They never met her, they were sorry for Viola’s loss, but not sorry for the actual girl. They didn’t know her as anything more than a diseased girl. They passed her death off with little sadness, this was expected to happen.

Ellen clutched the grass forcefully, biting her teeth harder. Her head throbbed with rage. Her heart was in turmoil. The person named Ellen would never be remembered. She would never be loved. Viola will always be loved. Ellen lived off that love. The only person that would remember Ellen, years after she died… was Viola. Her one and only friend. Ellen just didn’t understand what she wanted, anymore. If she completed her mission… she would live the rest of Viola’s life, burying the truth in the confines of her mind. But if she actually surrendered, gave Viola what she wanted… she would die. And Viola, having seen the error of her kindness, will go back to living her life, swallowed in anger forever. Ellen thought it better to keep her body, keep living as Viola, so everyone will still remember Viola for what she was. And the real Viola could-

“You’re taking a while.” Ellen flinched. The black cat had wandered over, wagging his tail in the air. “Might I ask what’s wrong?”

“I…I…” Ellen let a few tears go, facing directly down while clutching the grass. “I don’t know what to do anymore. . .” She sniffled in a fashion where she forced herself desperately not to cry, like she were maintaining a storm of rampant emotions.

“You mean you don’t know what you want.” The cat said. “You’re actually thinking of giving it back.”

“Y…Y…yes.” Ellen choked. “But, ah-… I don’t know what would happen. What if it’s… too late for Viola. And what will… happen to me? I-I don’t… understand, anymore. I don’t know… what I would regret more. Because either way, I-… ‘Ellen’… that person will be forgotten, forever. Either way, ‘Viola’ will exist. And on the day when I pass away myself… I-I just don’t understand why I’m so afraid of…of dying. Dying without… anyone to remember me.”

“If it’s any consolation… I would always remember ‘Ellen.’” He told her honestly. “The two of you… I’ve never known any humans like you two. Still… what are you going to do? Her room is just up ahead. It’s now or never, what you’ll decide.”

Ellen calmed down, returning to her focused, emotionless state. She stood up unflinchingly. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.” Ellen returned to the Doll Room. Ellen lit the lighter she acquired, melting the pretty wax eyes out of each of the dolls. Then, the secret passage to Ellen’s former room slid open. She climbed down the ladder, crossed the dark hallway. She walked forward, to the direction of her room. Where Viola waited. The hardest battle, and the hardest decision Ellen would ever have to make. After nine years, one way or the other, her friendship with Viola would come to an end. The note was posted on the door.

Chapter Text

It’s time we brought this story to a close.

The light peering through the windows was blood-red sunset. It gave Ellen in Viola’s body an eerie look. The very same as on that night, when she gave her former body a Throat-Burning Acid. When she gouged out her eyes and cut off her legs. This was the third time Ellen followed this passage in Viola’s body. It would surely be the last time. She opened the door to her room. The scent of rotting blood hit her nose. She stepped inside.

Her books of spells were torn to pieces, her dresses were burned, the diary on her desk had a knife through it, and her bed had dyed completely red. Her former body stood there, eye sockets bleeding. It seems Viola had sewn the legs back on with stitches, but they were red and purple, and the only reason they were standing was because of Viola’s inability to feel any other pain. The two places where Viola was shot by the gun were sewn as well. Ellen saw the squished golden eyes still flat on the floor. Viola was in a worse state than death, for sure. She limped toward Ellen. “Your chance to escape… was when you escaped the dungeon.” Her voice was still hoarse from the acid, albeit the throat had recovered somewhat. “If you still think… you can tell me to leave… you’re foolish.”

Ellen didn’t let fear get to her. She spoke coolly. “My whole time I was here, I was seeing your memories. Every wonderful moment we shared. You still see my memories, too… don’t you?”

“Of course… and I know how foolish I was for trusting you. You killed hundreds of innocent people… including my mother. Everybody in your eyes is a tool. If a tool doesn’t work… you trash it. Should I be proud to be the only tool you deemed useful? You were a liar, Ellen. A godforsaken monster who was never worth saving. YOU killed your own parents… you signed your life to that demon. You had eternal life. Your disease could never kill you. Tell me… after every time I went home, did you not lay on your bed and laugh? Laugh over how much I cared about someone who was never in danger?”

“Hmph… I guess you don’t have access to my memories. Or you’re just choosing to ignore them. You really aren’t the best Witch.”

Viola smacked Ellen to the floor, panting heavily with anger. Ellen wiped the blood off her cheek and stood up. “Every day that you came over were the best times of my life.” Ellen stated. “I’ve never gotten to know anyone like you, any friend like you. My entire life, all I wanted were people that cared about me enough to do… anything. But you know why, don’t you. Why I didn’t kill you back then. Why I enjoyed every minute of our friendship. Because you were my ticket out of this place. It’s true, Viola. My definition of a friend is someone who would get me whatever I wanted. Somebody so kind, and gullible as you… it was too easy.”

“UUUEEEEEH!” Viola growled, shaking the house with her rising magic power. She was ready to kill Ellen any second. “And yet, if you had actually told me what you were planning to do… I might have agreed to it. Every day that I saw you, rasping with pain, I felt bad about myself. I truly wanted to understand your pain, no matter the cost. And during that time, when I was trying to keep you inside the house… I thought to myself. I understood why you did all of this. Because all you wanted was a family… friends… people that loved you. I would have been glad to give you everything I owned. But then I learned you were a monster. Seeing all of your memories, I knew you would abuse all the people I cared about, too. I despaired so much when my father pulled the trigger, because I could never stop you. Then… the moment I was revived… I had my chance. I would do what you did to me: use your own friends as tools, so you would surrender.”

“Mm hm- ah ha- ah HA HA ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Ellen laughed hysterically. “You were afraid I would abuse all of YOUR old friends?! Did you not just hear yourself, Viola? YOU abused all of them! We were living and playing happily until you sought revenge! You said it yourself, you would’ve agreed to let me keep everything! I had your father kill you so I could END the pain of my body. I had no intention at all to hurt any of them. So why, Viola… why are you upset?”

“Because the world is full of people like you, Ellen… People who manipulate others for their own gain. A kind person like me never stood a chance. Little did I know, was that I was ensnared before I had a chance to learn this. When I was six years old, and I walked into your house… I failed to realize that girl was a monster. Not because she was sick, or because she was a witch… but because she’s a murderer. An uncaring, soulless witch who saw only one desire in what she calls a ‘friend.’ I want my body back… so I can have a second chance. I will use what I learned from you and never let myself be played again. A heartless world… is a heartless world. So tell me, Ellen… After all of this, do you still think what you did wasn’t selfish at all?”

“…” Ellen looked down and closed her eyes. “No.”

“THEN GIVE IT BACK!” The house trembled, and darkness engulfed them. Their souls were speaking now, Ellen was in the form of her untampered, violet-haired body, while Viola had a pale face and psychotic bleeding emerald eyes. “Give back EVERYTHING you took from me! Give back my body so you can DIE in the despair you created for yourself! Let all of New Oakland sleep in peace, knowing the horrible nightmare that lives in the forest is gone forever! There’s really no escape for you, Ellen… I will continue to chase you. I will haunt you until the end of time. I’ll make you beg for death, drown in regret… until I have my body back. It’s now or never, Ellen. Choose…”

She was right. It was now or never. If Ellen accepted, she would die in despair within her real body, and Viola could return home, angry and coldhearted for the rest of her life. Or Ellen could decline. Live the rest of her life as Viola. Nobody would ever know the truth. But if Viola chose to haunt her, Ellen may never have another friend. She could be a danger wherever she goes. She could never be with Viola’s loving father. It was clear what Ellen had to do.

Ellen turned and bolted down the hall. Viola grew incredibly furious, chasing on the dead, limp legs that used to belong to Ellen. The latter looked back, seeing Viola sway like a zombie as she ran. It wasn’t as scary as when Viola crawled at rapid speed with her arms, but her stamina was great. Ellen nimbly jumped all the holes, all the desks that slid in her way. Parallel rows of head statues slid into place, Ellen had to zigzag left-and-right as she maneuvered between them. Swords fell from the ceiling, launched from the front, from behind, Ellen avoided them all while outrunning the half-dead body. The knight charged at her with his sword from ahead, Ellen dodged left, she maneuvered rightward when tadpoles leapt out of puddles of blood.

On the 4th floor, the piano tried to munch her, the toy soldier shot its gun, the four Mona Lisas closed in, but Ellen dodged in-between, the giant jack-in-the-box popped up from the floor, Ellen dodged around, then narrowly avoided the man and woman statue that smashed in from either side, followed by pumpkins falling from the ceiling. On the 3rd floor, Ellen maneuvered around a floor of spikes, phased directly through the distractions that weren’t real, stayed on one side of the room while avoiding rose thorns, since her reflection ran along the other side, crossed the larger path and avoided the balance beams.

On the 2nd floor, nooses drooped down and tried to hang her, Ellen avoided the spider webs, looked away from the Books of Death—then bolted into the library. She rushed beside a bookshelf and cried, “STOP!!”

Viola froze. If she had eyes, they would show anger and curiosity. Ellen panted to catch her breath. She turned and pulled out a book. Viola’s Funny Story. “Remember this, Viola? You got this on my 13th birthday? It’s the story about a magical girl who lived alone in the forest. Children were afraid of her. The townspeople hated her. Then, when a band of robbers attacked their village, the witch used her power to save everyone. Then she used her magic to make the village prosper, and everyone loved her. The moral of the story is that just because someone is different from everyone else, it doesn’t make them a bad person.”

She set the book on one of two twin chairs. “That’s a fictional story. Let me show you a nonfiction.” She pulled out another book from the shelf. The Diary of Ellen. “My real diary. Those other booklets were pieces of it I magically scattered, but this is the source. It tells the story of a girl who was horribly ill, and unloved by her parents. She hated them so much, that she killed them with no remorse. A demon came and ate their souls, then gave this girl magic powers, as well as eternal life. Her whole life, she wanted to use a Switching Spell to trade bodies with someone healthy. Everyone was afraid of this girl, so she killed them all. Then, one day, she met a pretty girl with golden braids. This girl gave her the love and attention she always wanted. The witch loved this girl, because one day, she planned to take her body, to live the happy, healthy life she always wanted. And that’s just what she did. The witch’s friend was killed in her old body. Nobody ever knew the truth.”

Ellen set the diary on the other chair. She stood between both. “So now you must be wondering which story I like better? The silly child’s fantasy with the happy ending,” she gestured at Viola’s Funny Story, “or the realistic story with a real girl with a real heart of darkness and despair?” She gestured at Diary of Ellen. “Haven’t figured out? Well, I’ll just tell you.” So with no hesitation, Ellen picked up her diary. She held it so the front cover faced Viola, with Ellen baring a firm, honest look in her emerald eyes.

Then Ellen’s eyes burned with anger, her head throbbed. She opened and tore out every last page inside her diary, crumpled them, through them to the floor. She grabbed a nearby purple candle and threw it onto the paper, then with pure fury, she stomped the embers under Viola’s leather boots. All that remained of Ellen’s diary was soot. She couldn’t restrain the sobs, her emerald eyes flowed with tears. She fell to both knees and gazed up at Viola with the most pleading, heartfelt expression.

“I’m sorry, Viola! I’m sorry! I was wrong! I was wrong to take your body! I was wrong to steal your life! All my life, all I’ve ever felt was pain! I’ve been sick for so long, I never let myself feel anything else! I never let myself try to make friends. I killed… so many people! All the visitors… the potential friends I could’ve had. They were just victims to me. But you were my first true friend. And I never thought of you that way, sniff!” Her emerald eyes were beautiful under the tears. “All I saw you as was a pawn. A beautiful body that I could take for myself one day. ‘Friendship’ was… just a word to me. A ‘friend’ was someone who liked me enough to give me something important. That’s what I saw it as, that’s what I saw YOU as. But I was wrong! All I wanted was to have the love that you had, feel the love you feel… and I never realized, I had it all along! Sniff. Our whole friendship, all you’ve ever shown me is love and kindness. But I was so full of pain and HATE for my disease, I never let myself feel that! And you know… I don’t deserve it.”

Viola stood there, no soul or emotion in her half-dead face. Ellen sobbed in the hands that were once Viola’s, before pulling them away to look at them, standing up. “This body… th-this isn’t mine! I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve these… golden braids, these emerald eyes, your loving father, your friends… I don’t deserve any friends, I don’t deserve to LIVE! This is YOUR life, Viola, and I was wrong to take it from you. But Viola… this isn’t you, either.” She indicated the bloody, violet-haired corpse standing before her. “This isn’t who you are. You’re supposed to be kind, selfless, loving, caring… now you’re just like I was. You’re full of hate… MY hate! I made you that way! That body you’re in, that’s how my soul looks, not yours! Your soul is pretty, Viola, you shouldn’t feel ashamed for your kindness. There are tons of bad people in the world, I’m the worst of the worst, that’s why the world NEEDS a person like you, they need a soul that could show the LEAST bit of mercy to a person like me! You don’t deserve to suffer in my place, you don’t deserve someone like me in your life! I’ll give you your body back, just please, I beg you, go back to being the Viola I grew up with, don’t become this MONSTER!

“So Viola…” She slowly stepped forward. “I…” Then, Ellen fell to her knees, reached up, and took Viola’s hands, the hands of her former body. She faced directly up, the tears making her eyes sparkle still. “I trust you with my life!” Then she sunk, sobbing whatever emotions she had left. “Now please… trust me. That’s all I’m asking, trust me, too. Can you do that one thing? I know I’m a thousand years too early to be asking that from you, I know I deserve to suffer until I can earn such a thing… but please, trust me! Trust me so you can have your old life back! And I can die and have the pain and suffering I deserve!”

Ellen poured so many tears, it was unreal to her. It seemed an effort to produce so many tears, to express this much emotion. The feeling in her heart was unusual, one she never felt. She didn’t understand or care what it was, all she knew was that she was sorry, she wanted, truly wanted to give Viola her body back. But Viola would never listen. Ellen made her into what she is, and for that reason, both of them must suffer. She ruined a beautiful friendship with someone she truly loved, love that she didn’t know existed until it was too late, and now she wanted to give her friend what she deserved so that she, Ellen, could suffer in loneliness for the rest of eternity.

Ellen felt two bloody arms wrap around her softly. Viola had lowered herself, at equal ground with Ellen on her knees. “Aa….aaah…. f…fo…forgi….geeh….vv…vvyoooo….”

Ellen sniffled, wiping away the last few tears. She didn’t understand. Viola’s garbled voice had caught up with her. Her anger and turmoil was put aside to acknowledge that pain in her throat. But then they were surrounded in darkness, left their bodies. Ellen, purple-haired and golden-eyed, humble on all fours, looked up at Viola’s beautiful smiling face. “I forgive you, Ellen.”

Ellen couldn’t stop crying. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing… couldn’t accept it. “I trust you with my life.”

Those were Viola’s words. Those were the words Ellen wanted to hear. The ones she heard a long time ago, but never deserved. At long last, she understood their meaning. Their bodies lit with the same glow that binded them. The light appeared from their hearts, traveled along their hugging arms, and back into their original bodies.

Viola gasped, falling back and studying her arms. The flawless arms that were hers again. She felt the tears that Ellen leaked from her face, they were hers now, too. And they would keep coming when Viola looked at the mangled mess before her, gasping, writhing in pain. Viola grabbed and hugged Ellen close. “Thank you, Ellen! Thank you so much!” Her tears soaked Ellen’s horrid face. “I always knew you were good inside… and you are. I’m honored to be your friend… I’m sorry all of this had to happen. You’re so…You’re so beautiful. You’re a wonderful person… with a wonderful heart and soul.”

It was so strange for Ellen… her body was mangled… bloody… blind… She was in horrible pain… but she barely felt it… her heart, her soul only had one thing inside it… This feeling, from being so close to Viola, their hearts as one… it was beautiful.

“Yes… her soul is very lovely.” Viola looked up, eyes wide with terror. The room suddenly crumbled away, unveiling endless darkness as a huge black mass with demonic red eyes glared at her. “Congratulations, Viola. You have taken your body back. Ellen is now left to suffer. Your revenge is nigh, for you are free to go. I have waited so long… Ellen’s soul will be… delicious.”

“Y… It’s you…”

“Yes…” The black cat walked forward before a dark aura flew out of it, and its body fell dead. “I am the one who gave Ellen her power… gave her immortality. I am Lucifer. She has kept me young and healthy with that banquet of souls. But at long last, the main dish. Ellen will be mine.”

“But… why… Ellen gave you all of these souls… were you planning this from the beginning?”

“YES. Her soul was always ripe, from the moment she killed her parents. A seven-year-old with murderous thoughts and actions, I knew I had to nurture that soul and savor the ultimate meal. Her parents, in all their hatred and resent, were luscious, so I gave Ellen magic power. For giving me more and more tasty morsels, I gave her eternal life. Ahhh, Ellen. So pained, so desiring, so foolish. Her illness was never fatal… I could have easily fixed it if I wanted to. But her pain was MY sauce. It allowed her hatred to bloom, allowed her to seek an escape, and so she met you. Looking at what monster she transformed you into… I thought I could relish in some dessert, after you finally did her in. But I suppose… food rots after you wait too long. Ellen… is still fresh. Give her to me. Give her to me, and you go free. Give her to me, and the nightmare is over. You will finally be with your father and your friends, the happy life you wanted back. And I…I will FINALLY have what I need. With Ellen’s everlasting hatred in my bowels, my power will be limitless. I will finally have the power to rise above Satan, King of Demons, and become Emperor of Hell. You can only start the reign strong with a strong meal.”

“L-Leee….eeeehhhv….vvve…ve… meeeee….” Ellen moaned with any strength left in her lungs. “Lll…leev… meeee…”

Viola closed her eyes, recomposing herself inside. She looked down at Ellen’s form. “Ellen… you’re my best friend. I’d trust you with my life… and you’d trust me with yours. That’s why…” Viola reached into her satchel, and pulled out the bottle of Throat-Burning Acid. “I’m not leaving you.” As Lucifer was looming forward, ready to devour Ellen with his great open mouth, Viola hurled the acid down his horrendous throat.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!” Viola lifted her friend and bolted around the demon, whose screams rang loudly in her ears. “AAAAHH, IT BURNS! OH GOD, DOES IT BURN! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

Viola ran around hall after hall in the dark, crumbling mansion. Lucifer’s furious hiss roared behind them, Viola poured incredible strength in her arms to carry Ellen, strength in her legs to keep running, as the demon chased, ravenous with hatred. Viola put tiredness behind her, to save both of their lives, the physical prowess she was renowned for was all she needed. Black, demonic tentacles burst out of the walls and floors, Viola jumped, dodged, and ducked them all, her arms stiff and firm around her dying friend. Chairs, tables, grandfather clocks, many things flew at her from down the hall, Viola jumped off them all, her speed remaining as she landed on the floor, but a chunk was broken ahead, Viola ran along the right wall a brief second before landing on the safe side.

Agility she never knew she had, agility Viola would never have again, she would outrun this demon ‘til the end of time. Lucifer narrowed on them, his mouth wide open, the snapping of his teeth was near deafening, and each bite could’ve ate them whole had Viola not mastered her dodges correctly. A tentacle slithered from the wall, about to catch Viola’s leg- “AAAAH!” A giant teddybear came down and crushed it. “AAAARGH.” A massive spider landed on Lucifer’s head, gnawing away, he shook it off and resumed chase.

Viola made it to what she recognized as the front door of the mansion, but the knob was sealed tight, she jiggled and jiggled, but it would not open. “Hnnnn—AAAAAHH!” Lucifer had his chance to swallow them, but a giant armless skeleton caught him in its teeth, giant frog’s sticky tongue, the roots of a mighty elder tree.

While she was astonished by the sight, Viola gasped when the kitchen knife flew her way, but stuck into the wall beside. She grabbed the knife, stuck it in the keyhole, and desperately tried to pry it open. She twisted as hard as she could, feeling it was getting deeper, soon they would all be free. “NO! I won’t let you LEAVE ME! AAAAAHH!” Lucifer’s rage created a great black flame, throwing the skeleton, frog, and every creature that tried to thwart him.

“Nnn! It’s almost there!” Viola grunted. “Got it! Ellen, let’s—”

A sudden snap. Viola froze, horrified. Ellen was behind Lucifer’s teeth. Slowly sliding down his tongue. “ELLEN!!” She reached for her in despair.

“N…No… Vi…ola… no…”

Viola stopped and stared, the tears overcoming her eyes. She didn’t understand, couldn’t accept what Ellen was saying. Then, their bodies were gone, only their souls in endless darkness. Ellen was beautiful, smiling, her golden eyes viewing their last. “It’s… okay… Viola. Even if you saved me… my body wouldn’t last. I was already dead… I was going to Hell. It’s too late… for my soul to be saved.”

“ELLEN, NO! Please, it can’t end this way!”

“Thank you… Viola… for being my friend… for being my sister… I…I’ll always remember you… wherever I end up… you’ll always be in my heart… all I ask… is that I can stay in yours…”

“E-Ellen…”

“Good-bye… my friend… thank you… for my life…”

She shrunk beyond Viola’s vision. Her final resting place… the bowels of Lucifer. All of her hatred, her essence… were becoming his nutrients. Ellen felt nothing else but peace. Darkness… quiet… So this is what it’s like to die… to be rocked to sleep in Death’s arms. Mmm… it really isn’t so bad… I should have… taken this a long time ago. I could have avoided… so much…

Ellen landed in the stomach. Her bloody, decaying body was beginning to fade away in blackness. …It was so wonderful. The most wonderful Ellen’s ever felt. Slow, simple death. No more pain… no more conflict… she could float forever in blissful darkness. She let only the memories of Travis… April… Elizabeth… and Viola fill her mind. Viola… tell them all about me. I heard that a person never truly dies if people remember them. Please, remember me, Viola. Then I can keep living with you… for as long as possible. Tell your children about me, write a book or something. All I ask is to be remembered for what I was. My past… my mistakes… I have… no more regrets. Viola… I…?

Then her everlasting peace was broken, when Viola wrapped her in her arms. “I’m not letting you die!”

“Vi…ola!…”

“So, decided to join her after all, did you? Just perfect. I will have both morsels in my bowels. As you wish, Viola, you may be with your friend, in eternal… WHAT?!”

Ellen and Viola’s hearts were one. A light shone from their very core, growing bigger and brighter. A sun within the darkness. “WHAT IS THIS? This… light, it…IT…”

“Ellen… I love you!” Viola exclaimed, her tears shining. “My friend! My sister! Tell me you feel the same!”

Yes. She did. The feeling was always in her heart, however small and frail it was. “I… lo…ve.. yo-ou…”

“AAAAAAGH! IT HURTS, IT HURTS! I have heartburn! I can’t take it anymore, I can’t-!”

Lucifer spat them out, the girls plopping on the floor covered in slop. Viola saw a pair of boots before her, looked up, and gasped at the life-size toy soldier. It stared with blank eyes, before turning at Lucifer. It cocked its gun, aimed, and blasted. “NOOOO!” The toy kept shooting, its gun blowing many holes into Lucifer’s dark flesh. The giant skeleton grabbed in his teeth, the giant frog and his tiny children latched their tongues, the piano munch munch munched with its steel teeth, the white flower impaled its roots through, Mona Lisa, giant snake, big eyeballs bounced on him, after two long years, the house would devour its next victim. “I am… Lucifer! I am… hatred! I am everything! I am everywhere! I am the darkness that exists in all hearts! I am the most powerful demon! I AM THE RULER OF HELL!”

Viola was still aghast by the sight, everything that the demon helped create, every soul he devoured, would eat him inside his own domain. She shook out of her thoughts, held Ellen tight, and opened the front door. “NOOO! ELLEEEEN!” They were outside, under the night, grass under her feet, gentle breeze. Lucifer was helpless to escape from the darkening, shrinking house, his monstrous arm hopelessly reaching out. “COME BACK! ELLEN! MY WITCH! MY DARLING. I LOVE YOU! WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME, TOO? WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME? …El…len…”

The toy soldier concluded with one more shot through the head. Lucifer’s arm swirled and sunk into the mass of darkness. What remained of Ellen’s house shrunk into the ground, as a black blob of nothing. This part of the forest was barren soil, some shrubs and tree stumps sat before it. Nothing existed on this spot. The nightmare that terrorized the people of New Oakland, the Witch’s House, was gone.

Viola fell to her knees, catching her breath. Her arms were still tight around her dying friend. “Ellen… are you okay?”

She held her friend in front of her, staring at her bleeding sockets. Viola remembered how she sounded, 2 years ago in that same body: Ellen’s moans and gasps were raspy, hard to hear without a tingly feeling running down your spine. She wondered if Ellen could even see anymore, if she was totally drained of power. “Th…Thah…thank… yu…you…you…”

Viola smiled. Thunder roared overhead, and rain began to fall from the dark sky. She lifted her friend and carried her under the branches of a tree, laying her on her back. Her moans were louder than the rain. “Vi…la… Vi…ola…” Ellen reached helplessly to Viola’s face. “Plea…se… please… kah…kill… me…”

“Ellen… I-I can’t. I would never… I-I would never kill you.”

“It… huuuuurts… I… can’t… plea…please… I… pain…pain…”

Viola’s tears sparkled in the lightning as they dripped to Ellen’s face, washing away some of the blood. Two years ago… under a stormy night… her healthy young body escaped the house, staring at the dying, violet-haired body that reached for her, desperate, pleading. Viola saw how she herself looked that night, helpless before her best friend, begging with all of her heart for help. Ellen needed her friend, more than ever, to give her everlasting peace. But, no different than two years ago… Viola didn’t comply.

“I… wan-na… die… wanna… die… pain… so much… pain…”

“Ellen…” Viola shut her eyes. It became painful to look at her. “I know I don’t deserve to ask any more favors… after giving my body back… you shouldn’t have to do anything else… but Ellen… please don’t die. Please… it’s not fair. You were being played. You don’t deserve this. Please… we’ll get you treated. We’ll do everything to make you feel better. Please… Ellen?”

Ellen’s arm fell. Her rasps stopped. Rain and thunder were the only sounds. Viola’s tears came faster. She sobbed and buried her face into Ellen’s chest. All of her suffering came to an end. Even if it was what she wanted… Viola felt so terrible. All Ellen wanted was love… but she drowned herself in hate until the last minute. Now it was over.

Ellen was blind, in more pain than she ever could’ve imagined. Trapped in a state between life and death, it just wouldn’t be over. The pain, the pain lasted for so long… it was limp. A natural feeling she was accustomed to. She thought she was dead… no… the mass pressing against her chest, her still-beating heart. Viola held her close, cried. Ellen felt something in her chest, something she only recently understood. It was there all along… gave her heart the reason to beat.

For the second time today, she was true to herself. Deep down, her true desire.

Ellen’s hand reached up and touched the back of Viola’s head. The golden-haired looked up, astonished. Ellen was gasping again, a smile under her bloody eyes. “Vi…la… my… friend…”

The rain slowly subsided. The black clouds were lit by the morning sun. The wet leaves and grass glittered. The last of Viola’s tears dripped. “Ellen.”

“Vi…ola… please… hh…hel…p… me…”

Viola helped Ellen stand on her weak, bleeding legs. She bent over and let Ellen wrap around her back. Viola walked down the forest road, hunched over as her friend rode her. Viola remembered—Ellen’s memories stayed in her body, how sunny it was after that night 2 years ago. Now, it was even more majestic, because they could enjoy it together. “Ellen… you’re finally outside.”

“Y…Yes…”

“How does it feel?”

“…I…I…t’s… woh…won…derf…fful…”

Chapter Text

Thank you for reading.

Four years later…

The morning sun poked through her window. The chirping birds outside told her it was time to awaken. Viola still lay there, awake but her eyes closed, savoring the wonderful sound and serenity, not wanting to pull herself up from the warm covers and fluffy bed, her golden hair a mess. She peeped open her emerald-green eyes and viewed the picture of herself and her three friends, Elizabeth, April, and Ellen. The image finally gave the 19-year-old girl the strength to sit her body up, stretch, and yawn. She threw off the covers, took off her nightgown, and put on her favorite blue dress and white apron. These things sure came in a lot of sizes. She brushed her messy hair to a smoothness that sparkled in the sunlight, then tied two ends in pretty braids. She looked down and wiggled the toes on her feet, which bore the strength to walk miles after such a rejuvenating rest. Just like the day before, and many days before that, it was a wonderful day for her, Viola, to be alive.

“Happy anniversary, Ellen!” she proclaimed happily, throwing open the door to her friend’s room.

Ellen lay soundless and peacefully under her covers, a sleeping mask over her eyes. “I brought your medicine.” Viola walked in with the bottle of blue liquid.

Ellen groggily helped herself upright. She took the potion and slurped it down her throat. “Tastes great.” She really got used to the funky taste after all this time.

“Hey, Ellen. It’s bath day.”

“Oh… great.” If Ellen could flush, she would.

Viola pulled off Ellen’s covers, exposing her mummy-wrapped legs. She helped her friend to her feet and passed her the wooden crutches. Viola led Ellen to the bathroom, sat her friend on a stool as she unclothed her, and washed her using soap and a sponge from a small tub. She didn’t wash the bandaged parts. It was kind of awkward when she got to washing the face; soap got in her empty sockets. “Of course… you could always insta-clean with magic.”

“Hn… it’s okay.” Ellen smiled.

After Viola dried her off, she dressed Ellen in her new, frilly red dress, almost making her look like a ballet dancer. “And here’s your eyes.” Viola gave her two golden glass eyes.

“Thanks.” Ellen stuck the two eyes into the empty sockets. She looked at Viola with a light smile.

“Hm hm hm!” Viola giggled. “Your left one…”

“…Oh.” Indeed the left eye was just a white circle. Ellen turned it so it was straight like her right one, though the iris sunk down a little. “Better?”

“Hmhm! Yeah.”

Viola helped Ellen over to her dresser mirror. She brushed her friend’s violet hair, and helped tie on her red hair ribbon. “You look beautiful today.”

“Mmm…” Ellen still smiled. Her glass eyes showed no clear emotion, forced wide with no lids. It had been the same routine for a while. Four years ago, Ellen was hospitalized. She remained in the hospital for a whole year, and three months. Viola visited her every time she was able to. She prayed for Ellen’s health every Sunday. It took a bit of persuading to get Elizabeth to pay her hospital bill. She owed her rich friend a ton of favors, but it was worth it. Thankfully, the injuries on her friends and father were minor, they healed quickly. But the doctors never saw anyone in a worse shape as Ellen. They couldn’t believe she was still breathing… she couldn’t believe it either.

After over a year of doctors working around the clock, led by a rather talented one of their group named Dr. Drevis, a stronger medicine was created for Ellen’s illness. She was still hideous, she was still sick, but it subsided much of the pain and symptoms. But by this point, Ellen felt totally limp. Her body could barely feel, and she definitely couldn’t walk without aid. Ellen still had a faint amount of magic, which she used to give herself pseudo-eyesight. No one else knew her secret, and for now, they thought it best no one should know. Not until they grew comfortable enough with Ellen so Viola could make them understand.

Now, the reason Ellen feared going outside, that was her life now: dependence. Ellen hated being helpless to her parents. She didn’t want to be helpless to Viola, outside, even if she trusted her. Now Viola cared for her each and every day. She depended on Viola to help her walk, to bathe her… to fix her soul. This powerless state was punishment for all of Ellen’s sins. She accepted that. And she would gladly be under Viola’s care, until the day her soul was cured.

Viola helped Ellen to the living room, where steak and eggs were prepared for Viola, and cabbage soup for Ellen. It wasn’t the tastiest, but it was easy for her weak throat. Viola detestably cut her steak into little bits and ate them. Even after everything, she didn’t like meat, but appreciated her father for going out of his way to catch some every day, for her. She looked at Ellen, who halfheartedly sipped little spoonfuls of cabbage soup, her glass, lidless eyes wide, but her mouth frowning. “Ellen, what’s wrong?”

She stared silently at her soup for a few seconds. “…Sometimes I wonder… why I’m alive. My body was dead… I didn’t even have any hatred to keep it going… I have no demons to help me… Why did I live this long? Why do I deserve it?”

She looked up when Viola touched her shoulder, a warm smile on her face. “Because we love each other. It was our love that kept both of us alive, not just our hatred. Because we’re friends. And why should it matter now? You’re alive, Ellen. Enjoy it.”

Ellen smiled. She was right… Ellen had never felt so numb… yet feel stronger than ever. She regretted nothing else. Her and her friend were alive… Ellen had other friends that loved her, even a father that was willing to adopt her. She didn’t care for illness or helplessness… this was all she ever wanted. “You girls sleep well?” Viola’s father asked, walking in. “I hope I cooked that soup the way you like, Ellen.”

“It’s great, Da-… Mr. Somershire.” Ellen spoke politely.

Travis chuckled at her little stumble. “You can call me Travis if you want to.” He patted Ellen’s head. There was a knock at their door. “Oh. That must be your friends.” Travis went to answer it. Elizabeth greeted them brightly.

“Good morning, Viola and Ellen!”

“Thank you for not callin’ them ‘Vioellen’ this time.” April remarked. (It sounds like ‘violin.’)

“Come ooooon, they’ve got another Guertena painting at the museum today, and I SWEAR it looks like me!!” Elizabeth was very excited. “And, ahem, you promised you’d help clean up the mansion to pay off your ‘debt.’” She spoke scoldingly at Viola.

“Heh heh. Right, of course.” Viola blushed.

“Oh, but don’t worry, Ellen, I have your favorite room set up for you, you can just relax.” The rich girl said with a bubbly expression.

April snuck up to Viola and whispered with a smirk, “Maybe that Joshua boy will be at the gallery, too. I saw him givin’ you the ‘narrow eye’ the other day.”

Viola blushed further at this. Ellen looked down and frowned. Viola was 19 years old now, so sooner or later, she would have to start dating. “Ellen, are you done with your soup?” she asked.

“Oh. N-Not yet.”

After breakfast was over, Viola helped Ellen outside to Elizabeth’s horse-drawn carriage. “Viola… you want to get married someday, don’t you?” Ellen asked weakly. “I don’t want to… keep you from being happy with someone.”

Viola frowned. “I… guess I should. But I don’t want to abandon you. Sigh…” Although the past few years have been peaceful, Viola was concerned about the future. If she started dating, would any man want to marry her knowing they’d have to take care of Ellen? Viola would never think of her as a burden, but any future spouses would think otherwise.

“I could just stay with Elizabeth.” Ellen said. “Of course, I’d… have to really go blind.”

“Ellen, we will find a way to make it work.” Viola assured with a smile. “I promise.”

Ellen returned the smile, but inside she felt guilt. Inside, she knew she was more of a burden than ever. She wondered if this would even help her soul, troubling Viola like this. “Of course…” Viola spoke again. “Elizabeth and April have grown very fond of you. If they were comfortable with your secret, maybe they could…”

“…Maybe someday.” Ellen said. That would be the ultimate test of her new friends. Knowing she was the Witch. If Elizabeth, at least, could accept her, she could stay in her mansion, not have to pretend much. But if they didn’t… well, she guessed that would be the end of the road.

The four girls climbed onto the carriage, with Ellen seated in the back. For now, she wouldn’t think about the future. She would enjoy life with Viola and her friends. No matter what would happen, Viola was back, everyone was happy. Ellen only hoped that, if she and Viola were to pass away one day, they could go to the same, beautiful place.

Underworld

A deep, otherworldly rasping echoed from the fiery depths. Lucifer’s dark and mangled body lay here in despair. “Lucifer… you disappoint me.” said the great, shadowed mass that towered over him. He spoke with a deep, thundering voice. “I expected more from the Six Demon Saints. Even Medusa was not so humiliated.”

“What? …No… you’re not… Father…”

“You wanted to dethrone me, did you? But in the end, you were destroyed, by two mortal children. Ask yourself, Lucy… how can you live with yourself?”

“NO! They had… a fearsome power. It was… the greatest of the Deadly Sins. …They had love.”

The Demon King was intrigued. “…Love? That’s your excuse? You were defeated… with love between two mortals?”

“… … … Yes.”

“…” The Demon King stepped into the light. A monstrous faun with the horns of a bull, gassy blue skin, muscular body, looked at the dark sky and whiffed the atmosphere. He smirked with purest delight. His mind was open to so many possibilities. “I think I will try that myself.”

If you’re a fan of my main series, you know who the Demon King is. Hwow… finally, this is done. Well… I liked writing this. Yeah, it’s been done, people come up with their own happy endings to the story, but I’m glad to do it myself, and it was a lot of fun writing the altered puzzles. I’m not sure how well I described Ellen’s inner conflict, but I think I pulled it off OK. Well, thank you everybody for reading The Witch’s Ghost. I had a blast writing it, and if you wanna see more, or if you’re into crossovers, check out my Gameverse Saga. Lllllaters.

…

…

Viola succeeds in taking her body back by force. When she returns home, she is mean to everyone around her, her father, her friends, everyone. She lives the rest of her life in hatred, she never loves, and is never loved by anyone again.