Everything is silent. I can't hear through the dungeon, still can see from the dungeon though. It's just gone. Could I get it back by taking in someone's traits? I don't know. Lea comes up to my headless ghost. Her mouth is moving. My shoulder turns but I think she understands I can't hear her. She slumps her shoulder and motions me to go into her body. I do so awkwardly. My dungeon senses are not really giving me a good feel for moving my body.

  I can see through her eyes, feel the air on her skin, but I can't hear. I feel Lea agitation grow. She goes and writes something down.

  You seriously can't hear anything.

  No. I removed the ability to hear from my soul.

  Doesn't that affect Violet?

  I gave a mental eye roll, I removed it from my half of the soul.

  Clearly you can see, time to learn to read lips then.

  Is that a new skill?

  No, though I hear it will level the read skill of whatever language you try.

  But my [Common] is already maxed.

  Them's the breaks, now watch my mouth.

  I make a mirror for her to look at. I stare at her mouth. “Can lets me blood.” That makes no sense. Lea becomes annoyed.

  I said “now watch my mouth” you should at least assume a proper sentence.

  What ensued was a new trial of patience on both our parts.

  -----

  …

  19-7-1705

  …

  Sara still struggles at reading lips. Delores was quite distressed at seeing the headless girl. My laughter at how it was all absurd was greeted by harsh rebuke. See if I give her a discount next time. They spent time writing to each other. Delores trying to help improve Sara lip reading. One girl forms earth constructs while the other writes down what she said. It will be a slow process.

  …

  25-7-1705

  …

  Finally able to hold conversations at speed with her. It's amusing how both me and Delores quickly learned how to hide our conversation from her. An omnipresent dungeon can't see past hands covering lips. It's still annoying she assumes the worst interpretation of what she reads, her inability to hear tone is rather annoying.

  …

  -----

  I don't assume the worst.

  “I had asked you ‘if you wanted bread’, you thought I said ‘I wish you were dead’.”

  It was an honest mistake. She rolls her eyes.

  “And when Delores said ‘Hope to see you tomorrow’, you got all depressed because you thought she said ‘Don't expect to see me tomorrow’.”

  Okay maybe I fill in the blanks with negativity. I know this has been tiresome for the both of you. I'll try to do better. She rolls her eyes again.

  “I get it Sara, and using sarcasm or mocking tones don't exactly translate when said with straight faces. Just try to add your emotion sensing to what you read, eh?”

  That makes sense. It's hard to focus with my thirst gnawing at—

  My mind blanks, the bliss hits me…then it grows larger as the tail end of Violet half pushes into me. I try to refocus, Lea is gripping the sides of the counter.

  “Violet has…”

  Taken up the contract again. It was expected.

  “How can you be calm about this?”

  It was inevitable, so we just made it part of the plan. I work at pushing out my mana aura from the fountain. A living aura. Bizarrely my body is still alive under the fountain, no doubt because of the stasis spell that locks me out.

  -----

  …

  1-8-1705

  …

  The cask arrived. It is a good day. I had a cup to celebrate. Sara said it didn't transfer over. It soured the cup.

  …

  -----

  Not that you didn't finish it.

  “Wouldn't wish to waste it. How far have you pushed the aura?”

  It's the entire walled area at this point. Do you think they built a town outside the citadel?

  “I don't know, I'll ask … well the man himself.”

  Sir Ujan had entered the shop. He had a bottle in his left hand. Lea smiled.

  Not till Violet has returned.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Lea begins to scowl which causes confusion in Sir Ujan.

  “Sorry the frown was for Sara not you, you Sir have brought joy.”

  “Ah how is she doing, I must ad… this is all ra… st… st……ion”

  I can’t read him.

  Lea rolls her eyes, “He said it was strange how you became my live in ghost.”

  “Why do you re… what I say?”

  “Sara can't hear anymore, she is having issues reading your mouth since you lack lips. She has given up completely on the adventurer guild master.”

  That earns what I assume is a laugh. Beaks are unreadable. Drakenoid at least somewhat flexes their mouth. I'm assuming too much. This is all frustrating.

  “Does the citadel in the plains have a town?”

  Sir Ujan instead of speaking forms constructs, each word forming then becoming new words.

  No, for now it was best to just have a citadel. The viscount pushed for it to remain uninhabited beyond a contingent of knights.

  Lea laughs. “I bet he did. Didn't want to draw away adventurers.”

  Sir Ujan gives a smile. Lea gives him a serious look.

  “Do not let any Elves into that citadel. They are after Sara's body.”

  His eyes are shocked at that, “Do you know why?”

  “Only suspicions.”

  -----

  …

  7-8-1705

  …

  The girl has grown more morose. She is unable to improve her accuracy with others. I suspect our soul connection and her feeling the vibrations in my throat is allowing her to cheat with me.

  I finally tiered. I never felt the desire to try before now. Sara simply gave me a sad feeling when I wrote that. She wouldn't say why. She can be so frustrating at times. Just waiting for the latest batch of potions to finish before I grow a new tail.

  I completed my first dress. It's a frumpy looking thing but its variety. I don't hate it. Perhaps I should ask Ujan if he can procure some patterns.

  …

  -----

  Only Ujan now?

  “If only covering the book would work as well as covering my mouth.”

  You have to see to write something, less your hand inevitably takes more room then required.

  “Get out of my body already.”

  I leave. She moves to the potion-o-matic. She fiddles with where the core is, finally extracting the thing. She doesn't bother talking, knowing I probably am not looking at her in the correct angle to see it. Core in hand she smiles at me then plunges it into her own chest. I wince and she is breathing hard. The wound closes and she drinks a bit of blood from what used to be my blood skin. My annoyed look only caused her to give me a shrug. No tail yet. I go towards her to rejoin when I feel my Tapestry being cut.

  I catch the errant piece of memory. Violet doing some macabre ritual. Horns removed while she is alone in a plain white room. She remembers our joke but doesn't push anything into our soul. She had thought it was not yet time. She then leaves acting all jittery. It convinced the Elf to have her remove the memory. Which is why it is now my memory. I heard voices again, even if it was only Violet and hers.

  Lea touches me. I tell her what I saw. What I heard.

  “So Violet still hears. Perhaps your part of the soul can regain it if you merge with her…or me.”

  The temptation, my thirst hammers me. You're still acclimating to the core. She shrugs and walks away.

  -----

  …

  10-8-1705

  …

  The core feels almost mine. Just a bit longer. Sara has been off scaring adventurers with her ghost. It's pretty amusing. She hasn't rejoined me since the core. Delores visit brings her out. They both converse with dirt until Delores inevitably runs out of mana. The young noble daughter declaring it better to practice than to be constantly misunderstood.

  Potion business is swift, which actually annoys the headless one. I've had her supply fire mana into the potion machine now that I have the core. I'll need to put in a new order for a book on clothing patterns with Ujan. Something for us to read. Perhaps two

  …

  -----

  “Oh the core is fully mine now.”

  I mentally smile at Lea. She gets up from her writing desk and motions towards her nose. She has a fire tail now. I oblige her with a kick to her face.

  Her body becomes scaled and ultra violet. Though strangely instead of the holes for ears she instead has scaled Elven ones. Her body is rather lithe for a Drakenoid. Seems Violet was able to manage a homage of both Belna and Sencea. Though I suspect Belna would be annoyed with her chest having scaled boobs. I watched Lea try to speak but without lips my reading of it was terrible. Fire letters form in front of her. I motion her to turn them around which annoys her further.

  Why am I a white lizard?

  I touch her arm, and told her of Belna and Sencea. And how she was probably as colorblind as a Drakenoid.

  -----

  …

  5-12-1705

  …

  Another day. Another chance to sell potions. I can't believe she stopped taxing adventurers. I should ignore her for the rest of the day.

  …

  -----

  Not like she can form her own cores. I sigh. Her banal entry trying to hide her plans she and Sir Ujan have. As if their hands over their mouths the past few days had not given themselves away. I take a moment to reflect. It's been more than a year without my sister and my mothers. No Qorth, no messages from the B's. I hope Alicia came to term safely.

  Wonder what new bullshit command I will see next. It's been two months since the last. She actually tried to elicit what Violet's true name was. Apparently the contract firmly denies giving away something so precious. That she further asked what at least the true name meant was only answered with one word, ‘Dawn’. Amusing how our halves have named ourselves after the start and end of the day.

  I feel my soul do its yearly shiver. As my soul grows by one, the various rents and cuts in my soul burn. I mentally scream, the pain horrible. I don't gain lucidity for some time.

  I feel another piece of memory cut. Guess she couldn't even…the dungeon shudders at my absorption of it. Lea is next to me. Plunging a hand into my ghost. I rejoined her.

  “What is going on?”

  I…I don't understand. Violet was a child. Lea rolls her eyes.

  “You've always been a child.”

  No…no she was like a two year old Elf child with bracelets and anklets on her. Like way too much jewelry.

  “It's too short of a time for Violet to be birthed, Sara. She might be powerful but she can't make a pregnancy that lasts only a day.”

  I think I missed some commands, maybe when Violet's memory flooded into me two months ago. Damn, I think mother had reverted her body to this to make her think she was always an Elf. She is a two year old suffering this amount of soul pain…no wonder mother removed the memory.

  “She is not your mother. She birthed me and I don't think of her as my mother.”

  Sorry, absorbing Violet's memories kind of messed with my head a bit. I … I… Was I wrong to try this?

  “Not like you had a choice.”

  But I pushed for this. It was my decision to confess and now…

  Sir Ujan comes in with a box and a bushel of baguettes. I separate from Lea and leave them both.

  -----

  Alone with my thirst in the throne room. Two rather absurdly shaped thrones. An open back to allow for spider abdomen to poke out. My sister was bored, she actually had a giant web at one point. Her whimsy simply was caught the day I approached her almost fully rotted. She played it off as well as she could. My soul warms at the memory but I can't smile, not without a head.

  I have given up a lot at this point. But at least I remembered. Her very identity has been stripped away…damn it. My geas is gone. She took our name. It was how we defined ourselves for so long. I missed it in the flood and now it's not me anymore. I look at my arms, the scars are still there.

  Lea is in the throne room. She walks to me, places a hand in my ghost.

  Sorry feeling a bit sullen after the latest memories.

  She grows annoyed when I don't join her body. She instead burns letters into the floor. An attempt to annoy me then.

  No one says you have to be happy on your soul day. Look, I know you need to merge with me to carry out your plan. You can't stomach what you need to do without me.

  I have done plenty of cruel things. I was executed for it. She rolls her eyes.

  You ate bad people and went mad. You hurt those who injured you. You need my indifference and callousness. An Elf's perspective on Larks. Sure you can do it for a day but your guilt will consume you the next.

  I shiver at that. I've felt their indifference. Know their rationale. I know that I could never adopt it as my own. I…I have all of Violet's thoughts and memories. Violet always yearned to be free of our guilt. Merging with Lea may actually do that. I may not want to leave.

  I fear I won't let you go till the end Lea…

  If I can be a part of that bitch’s demise I don't care, even if you devour me.

  Her hands spread wide, ready to embrace me.