…

  1-5-1706

  …

  I need to heal more. Systems, her soul is a glacier now. More trinkets are being bought. My suggestion of shifting the density to the throne room is met with indifference. I think I should ask Ujan if we can let regular town folks come to the store. We need to funnel more healing our way.

  …

  7-5-1706

  …

  Finally, the latest Elf's ear fell off. Just too close to my soul. It's rather ghoulish but I prefer them not being able to tell which are human and which are Elves.

  …

  -----

  That won't do. But I can't restore them either. I find myself at my dried up fountain. I've studied the workings from time to time. This part doesn't purify water at all. It actually uses a divine spark to make magic water real. Fueled by soul. What happens when the soul runs out though. Ah, an actual soul convert. Is this true for all fountains or just citadel ones? I could see a siege attempting to poison the ground water in an attempt to strain the fountain. No one is really around to ask at the moment.

  I've already changed the barrier to saturate the area with my mana aura. Instead of water magic…a bit of blood magic. My chest begins to feel itself being pulled. Seems I am draining myself of blood. I can feel my thirst grow. It's a fountain of healing. My soul doesn't care. This doesn't work if I am driven mad by an unquenchable thirst. Then what if the fountain is me. My soul trembles. The fountain shakes. My soul etches into the instrument of my destruction. The thirst stops growing.

  I look out at the fountain. Blood begins to flow out of it. I'm not sure if my soul is still attached to my body anymore. I bring one of the undead over. They touch my blood. Their body restores. Pristine. For now. I don't want them to be completely indistinguishable from the living. The next few I have the pristine one dab the blood in places to restore features. The Elves look like Elves again.

  -----

  …

  8-5-1706

  …

  A phylactery. She created a phylactery. The stupid child. All so she could give her undead their ears back. This is beyond cutting one's nose off to spite their face. I swear the healing is thawing her. I keep telling myself that. I had to ban her from the store.

  …

  14-5-1706

  …

  Another Elf joined the army. It erased my progress. Ujan said he had a better idea than using Kargnia residents. When asked further he just said I should wait and see. Peter came by. He begged Sara to not flood the dungeon with such a dense miasma. She didn't care.

  …

  -----

  Lea puts her quill down in a huff.

  “Your lichyness, how bout if you don't care you let up on the density till the ice region.”

  I look at Lea. “Lichyness?”

  She rolls her eyes at me, "What else would you call that?”

  “Call what?”

  She walks over to me and grabs my ghost hand to shove in my face, “That.”

  Skeletal and cold. The air around it frosts. I begin to shake. I go to the mirror. Fearing I don't have a reflection. My soul begins to thrum. Still there. But my ghost is as if I had rotted myself. I am rotting myself. My soul continues to vibrate. I hug myself. This is wrong. I don't want to see this.

  “Sara!”

  I look at Lea, she is looking at my reflection. I turn to see she is not actually looking at my reflection but the absence of it. Vampire indeed. My soul burns at that. I want to cry. Nothing comes out. I look at my hand again. It's pristine again. A trade I suppose.

  “Why are you not reflected anymore?”

  “The undead can't bear to see what they've become.”

  My words cause Lea to grasp her body. She is shaking at my words. She looks up at the mirror.

  “Fuck, did you really have to rob my reflection too.” She grouses.

  “Drink my blood, become true. Then living you can preen all you want.”

  “Just cause your voice is all, I'm undead and all gravelly, doesn't make you sound impressive.” I just stare at her, she just minces her hands, “I'm not ready yet.”

  -----

  …

  15-5-1706

  …

  Of all the things I have done, this really drove into my soul that I was a monster. I can't even do my hair anymore. I'll just have to live with it being brushed out. My bleeding reflection is gone. Sara thinks it's only when our body is undead. My pointing out that I was currently alive was only answered with me being system classified as a monster. I hope that distinction is true.

  Ujan said he got approval. Of what, he still wouldn't say.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  …

  4-6-1706

  …

  The first wounded knights have arrived. Seems Ujan wishes this to be a recovery clinic for the Bronfkin war. They are in bad shape. Triaged, stabilized and shipped here. The healing required is far greater than before.

  …

  -----

  “This is healer's bane.” Lea looks at Sir Ujan incredulously.

  They are standing in a new part of the store. A receiving area for the war wounded. It has a separate entrance and another two guards.

  “Ah yes, it seems Bronfkin forces deployed it after the [Countess] Magdeline and [Lady] Maxwell arrived at the front lines.” Sir Ujan answered.

  “Well what do you expect me to do about it?” Lea bemoans.

  “Ah well, Sara was capable of breaking the curse. She took it into herself and negated it from what the reports said. It was hoped you could as well.”

  “Of course the little martyr would infect herself with healer's bane.” Lea mutters.

  “Pardon?” Sir Ujan asks.

  “I don't have a [Resist Curse] skill.” Lea speaks up to Sir Ujan's disappointment.

  I float invisibly to the sufferer. I touched her. The curse latches onto my ghost. Funny. I let it traverse me. I let go after it left her fully. Tempting as it is to just leave it, I instead negate it with the soul core. After all, there will be more to come.

  You have gained [Resist Curse] Intermediate 1

  Intermediate- doubles the amount of resistance through your mental stat, Sera

  Mental Fortitude raised to 1294

  I glower at the notification. It's Sara's skill, not just mine. Cea could always demand to see my status screen again. The notification rewrites itself to be more generic. Better.

  Lea interrupts my introspection, “All well and good but warn me next time, you almost killed her with your undeath, Sara.”

  I look at the knight again, Lea is healing a nasty lesion at the place I touched. Sir Ujan looks panicked. I touch Lea, sorry.

  “Is she here?” Sir Ujan is looking around frantically.

  “She is but she is not going to talk. How many more can you cure, Sara? Actually, I'm touching the next one and you can pull it out of me. That way we both get skill ups.”

  I simply float into her instead. My rate improved, at least three more. I felt my soul warm far more from negating the curse.

  “That's good, cause I don't think we will be stopping at three.”

  Um, before Sir Ujan leaves, could you ask him if it was Cecelia who has an official noble title now.

  Lea smiles and asks for me.

  -----

  …

  5-6-1706

  …

  She may not have said mom but at least she asked with hope. Another level before I can negate the curses myself. Ujan stays with me the entire time. I think it's to prevent the general panic from the knights of having a monster in the clinic. Nothing like returning from a fever dream and seeing a beautiful Vampire such as myself laying hands on you. The girl didn't gag at me this time. Not as much fun.

  …

  2-7-1706

  …

  I found a new delightful change to Sara. Seems when she is incognito ghost mode, she shows up in mirrors. When I pointed it out, she actually laughed. Something about stupid kitsune logic being undone by mundane items. Asked if she was a Kitsune or a Vampire she only replied with a why not both. The dungeon shook at that. I swear she is trying to give me a heart attack.

  …

  -----

  “How is that going to happen if your heart isn't beating? Actually, do you even have one?”

  I stick my head into Lea's chest. Surprisingly she does. She scrambles away, covering herself defensively.

  “Buy a girl a drink first.”

  I roll my eyes. “I'm literally paying you in drinks.”

  “Workplace harassment!” She shouts.

  I tilt my head, “Is that actually a thing?”

  “Of course people can be harassed at work.”

  “I get that, I'm more saying does this world have a concept that it is different from just regular harassment.”

  Now Lea tilts her head. “...It doesn't.” She sounds unsure, "Why did I say that?”

  I frown at her. I don't recall saying it myself. Is my soul bleeding into her?

  “Lea, maybe you should—”

  “Oh my systems, you're not talking like you're dead anymore.”

  Now I'm shocked. I smile. Hadn't even noticed.

  -----

  …

  8-7-1706

  …

  The letters I sent got replies. I doubt they are a day out.

  …

  -----

  “Who aren't?”

  “I don't know what you're asking about?” Lea says with an air of disinterest.

  I squint my eyes at her.

  “By the way, you're allowed in the store again. Now that you're back to being just chilly.”

  I roll my eyes at her. I can be wherever I want.

  -----

  They entered the shop. Their many legs clicked on the floor. I rushed and hugged Barbain. My ghost is fully tactile for the experience.

  “Hi ghost mom.” She greets me as if this was a normal summer day.

  “Its still weird when you say that.”

  “The ghost or the mom part?” Barbain asks with a wry grin.

  I feel something latch onto my back before I can answer.

  A small voice whispers, “Ghost mom.”

  “Xena…how much do you…” She nuzzles my neck instead of answering.

  Answer enough for me. Beatrice walks in as well. She has a sad face. I float to the Tibyder and hold her face while studying it. Do not blame yourself. She gives me a braver smile then looks behind her. I see a sleeping Alicia on her back. She would be past her first soul day at this point. Her many legs splayed. It's a wonder she hasn't fallen off. I smile and touch her.

  You have gained [Vampress Matriarch] Apprentice 3

  Gain 20 exp

  Worth it.

  -----

  …

  9-7-1706

  …

  They didn't stay more than a day. Apparently Sara never rescinded her command about them finishing their education. She didn't yesterday either. Only murmuring that they would quit school on the spot if she did. My pointing out that it would be their choice to do so didn't get her to budge.

  The girl is still smiling.

  …

  27-7-1706

  …

  Sara thinks another group of pests are coming. She thinks she can handle more tethers now. I think she is an idiot.

  …

  9-8-1706

  …

  Another 33 undead. She returned to gravel voice again. But she still smiles. I think she just wanted to fix up her undead. Apparently skeletons are just too generic for her.

  …

  26-9-1706

  …

  The number of maimed that come from the front lines is lessening. Apparently our efforts are pushing the war to a close. The balance of power is shifting in the region. Will Atlas neighbors remain neutral to this new status quo? I know the bitch to the north probably won't. Her various treaties are meant to keep those lesser race’s nations in line and weak.

  …

  -----

  “Lesser races?”

  Lea looks up, “What?”

  “Like seriously what makes them lesser?”

  She thinks on that, “They don't live forever.”

  I roll my eyes, “Pretty sure Elves die sooner than everyone else. I feel they have an admitted callousness towards dying.”

  “We have Tapestries.”

  “Which Elves believe everyone can gain. Also totally not unique to Elves.” Before she can point out that I devoured Elves, “It was there before I ate Vanessa.”

  She frowns at that. She scratches a line through ‘lesser ‘in her diary.

  -----

  …

  17-10-1706

  …

  5 potions sold. Another set of thermal undergarments. Just a boring day.

  …

  -----

  Another bit of memory. It has been awhile since Sarcea caused problems.

  Cea is looking at me rather crossly. I think she is debating saying something. I had just asked her what my crime was.

  “You were a Vampire who ate three of my princesses. I aim to have them back, before risking your own Tapestry to rebirth. Worry not, I will ensure your rebirth myself if successful.”

  I hadn't taken the answer very well. Hair pulling, sobbing, crying. Lamenting that I couldn't remember any of that. Realization that I wasn't born an Elf. And then a command to expunge the memory. Her body looked to be about my age. I pop myself near Lea.

  “Is she going to go further? Is the next memory going to be her being pregnant?”

  Lea, confused, only says one thing, “What?”

  “Sarcea is my age but the bitch wants her to birth princesses and she could totally just tell her to do it and this is a disaster.”

  Lea blinks a few times, “Does she know you can become pregnant without a partner?”

  “It's not in my memory, she never asked me before Sarcea.”

  Lea shrugs, “There is no rush for her, she will likely find you suitors, may even let you decide which. Happy mommies make for safer pregnancies. If she goes the courtship route then it ain't in the next few months. Your suitor needs to agree as well.”

  Oh, I never hoped this much to be forced into a relationship as I do now.