Disclaimer: I do not own "The Witch's House" and its characters.

A deal…?

The wolf kept staring at the mangled body that was once Ellen's, waiting for an answer.

Viola looked back at the demon in disguise, her magic enabling her to see even though her eyes were gone. She knew that, deep in her heart, she still wanted to live, and that was the only reason why she was still having that "conversation" with the demon wolf.

On the other hand, she knew what kind of "deal" he was talking about. When a person made a deal with a demon, they became a witch. Like Ellen… They would be granted magical powers, in exchange of finding souls for the demon to devour. Viola couldn't imagine living like that. But… did she prefer dying without finding justice…?

"Well…?" the wolf grunted. "Your time is running out, princess. If you don't make a decision fast, I'll just make on for you and eat your soul right here. Is that what you want?"

Viola gulped, but that only made her throat ache even more intensely.

'If I make a deal with you…' she thought, knowing the wolf could somehow hear her thoughts. 'I'll become a witch like Ellen…'

The wolf nodded. "Right."

'But I'm in Ellen's body… Doesn't that mean I'm a witch already?'

"Yes and no." The wolf's ear twitched. It was starting to rain. "Technically speaking, your body has magic, but the deal was made with a demon that's pretty much gone."

The cat…

"Now, since I hate his soul that means his magic is now mine," the wolf stated, grinning. He was obviously quite pleased with himself over having obtained the cat's power. "This, consequently, means that that body only has magic for as long as I want you to. As for whether or not you're a witch, the thing is that your soul is in a body that is not yours. Your body has magic but your soul does not."

Viola looked at her hands. They were still squeezing the grass underneath, shaking violently.

She understood. The magic she had wasn't hers – it was Ellen's. Viola had no magic; she could only use magic because she was in Ellen's body. That wouldn't stop her from dying, and she knew it.

The wolf huffed. "Ellen's magic is dissipating as that guy's soul is being, let's say, 'digested'," he added. "Time's ticking away fast, Vi-o-la. What's your decision?"

The girl whimpered. She didn't have enough time to ponder the possible consequences of her decision. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to allow Ellen to win, after all she had done. She couldn't allow it. Her father was right now accompanying the witch to their home, comforting her… giving her his share of love, as Ellen so desired… She knew what she had to do. If Ellen really wanted to switch places, then so be it. Ellen would become the normal girl… and Viola would become the witch.

'I accept,' she cried in her thoughts. 'I'll make the deal. Make me a witch… Don't… let me die…'

Her vision shut down. Everything went black. Viola stopped thinking. And the sound of the rain vanished.

Tick… tack… tick… tack…

'Ugh… my head…'

Tick… tack… tick… tack…

'… Eh? Is that a clock…?'

Tick… tack… tick… tack…

'Wait… am I…? Am I…?'

Tick…

The girl turned her head, finding herself capable of seeing again. She was in a room. A pretty room, decorated with paintings of beautiful landscapes and animal figurines. There was a window on the wall in front of her, closed at the moment. It looked cloudy outside. A faint smell of meat being cooked floated in the air…

Viola sat up, looking at her surroundings. Whose room was that? It didn't look like Ellen's room… Was she really back at her house?

"'Sup," greeted a familiar husky voice. "I see you're finally awake."

She looked at her right to find the large brown wolf staring at her from the floor. She tried talking, but the pain in her throat warned her that it was not a good idea.

The wolf wagged his tail once. "You'll have to keep talking with me through telepathy, princess," he said. "That throat of yours is still in bad shape. And your eyes… and your legs…"

Viola moved her hands towards her face. It wasn't bloodied anymore, but there were now bandages around her eye sockets; she still had no eyes. Looking down showed her that she was still missing her legs as well. She sobbed.

'You lied to me…' she accused telepathically.

The wolf frowned. "Huh?"

'You said you'd give me magic…'

"And I did. How do you think you ended up here?" He gestured towards the walls of the room with his paw. "This is a witch's house – specifically, your house."

Viola sniffed, her hands reaching desperately for the legs that just weren't there. She thought that if she got her own share of magic, her body would be healed. She wouldn't be in so much pain anymore. But that wasn't the case…

The wolf finally realized what was behind her distress. "Ah I get it. You thought that you'd be magically healed once you became a witch…" He shook his head. "Sorry, princess, that's not how it works. Self-made injuries need a higher level of magic to heal, as well as the nasty disease Ellen had…"

The new witch stopped sobbing. She looked back at the wolf. 'What… what did you say?'

"I said that those injuries need a higher level of magic to heal," he repeated. "If you want to get rid of them, I suggest you practice…"

'No, no,' Viola hissed in her thoughts. 'What did you say about Ellen's illness?'

The wolf's ear twitched; he looked slightly annoyed at being interrupted. "I said that the disease Ellen had could only be healed by a higher level magic, like your wounds…"

Viola looked at the window. Being in Ellen's body granted her access to the former witch's – and best friend – memories. The demon, the cat, told Ellen that she could not cure her illness with magic. That's what he told her… but the wolf was saying otherwise. Question was – which one was lying?

"That would be the cat," the wolf said promptly.

Viola yelped. She had forgotten that the wolf could read her thoughts for a second.

He grinned. "'Course, you can't really tell if I'm lying or not myself, uh? Guess you'll just have to trust me," he teased. "Anyway, it's like I said – that illness can be cured, but not with the magic you have now."

'So what do I do about that?' Viola asked, trying not to think about how worried she was that the wolf was lying to her. She had enough of being betrayed by Ellen…

"You practice, duh," the wolf snorted. "Ellen was a pretty lazy witch, you know? She never tried to experiment with the magic she had – all she did was do what the cat told her. Lame, isn't it?"

Viola didn't answer. A new concern was arising in her heart.

'Now that I'm a witch… Will I have to gather souls for you? Like… Ellen did…?'

"Weeeeell…" The wolf's grin got wider, as he hopped onto the bed, on the spot where Viola's legs should be. "That's your side of the bargain, princess. I give you magic and a nice house – you give me new and delicious souls to eat. I should warn you; I'm a very picky eater."

That couldn't be good. What was she supposed to do? Lure innocent children to her house like Ellen had? Wouldn't that make her as bad as her then?

She knew that making a deal with a demon and becoming a witch was not going to grant her a happy and pleasant life just like that. But in her despair, her willingness to stay alive… she ended up doing the same as Ellen.

"Ah, the heartbreaking moment when one realizes the horrible mistake that they've done," the wolf said in fake swoon. "A lovely scene to watch. I'm a sucker for drama. Now, Viola, I suggest we head downstairs. You have a house to visit, and if my nose is correct – which it should be…" He sniffed the air. "Yep, dinner's ready. Come on, we don't to upset the cook, do we?"

Viola frowned. 'I can't walk,' she reminded.

The wolf jumped off the bed and headed towards the door, which was ajar. "You have both the magic I gave you and what remains of Ellen's magic, princess," he declared, which surprised Viola. He said that Ellen's magic would vanish along with the cat's soul, didn't he?

"Since you were so kind as to make a deal with me, I allowed you to keep the leftovers of Ellen's magic. That alone should make you more powerful than Ellen was right from the start," he clarified, walking past the door into the hallway. "Take it as a gift, for my lovely witch."

Viola looked at her torso and then at the door. She would have to use magic to be able to get out of that room. She was not going to drag herself across the floor like she had done to chase Ellen. That was too painful…

Looking at her room, she noticed a chair, where a cute golden teddy bear was sitting. As she looked at the chair, she got an idea.

'Help me move', she thought, as she raised her hands towards the chair. 'Come here and help me.'

Immediately, the chair came to life. Its legs bended as if it was an animal, and trembled slightly. Then, it strutted towards the bed, obediently.

Viola smiled. 'Good girl…' she complimented, though she wasn't sure that this new animated chair was a female. She patted the chair, and the animated object jumped, as if it was happy.

She managed to sit on the chair, and took the teddy bear on her arms. The chair, responding to her mental commands, made its way past the door and onto the illuminated hallway, where the wolf was waiting.

It was time to see her house.