Hello, everyone!
This is an important announcement, so please read this before reading the rest of the story.
This is ending number one. This is NOT the final ending.
There will be two endings. I will not say which ending is the true one and, instead, I will let my readers decide. Number two will come out shortly.
Ending 1: The Ultimate Sacrifice
It will all be over, and here we are
We'll die inside this salted Earth together.
You'll pierce my lungs
my limbs go numb
as my colors fade out.
You watch me bleed.
You watch me bleed.
(Watch Me Bleed, Scary Kids Scaring Kids)
"G…gi..v…g…e…"
Noelle watched in pity as the exchange took place. She did her best to ignore the blood dripping down her back. She lay under the bed, hiding until her part of the plan was to begin.
Success was unlikely, but then again, it was always that way. In the end, the odds didn't really matter.
The cat lay beside her, snickering all the while. She'd hurt him if she didn't know what would happen. But now she knew the truth.
He was in control of her fate. Whatever happened to her, he would have a say in it. The bondage would only end once the contract was complete. Once Viola was given her freedom, everything would be the way it was supposed to.
I'll go home, see mom, give my stepdad a hug, tell Jonathan I love him, and everything will be back to normal.
She told herself that over and over again, hoping that it would come true.
Noelle almost jumped when Viola darted after Ellen. Ellen ran out of the room quickly, Viola just a few steps behind. The door slammed shut behind them.
Quickly, Noelle crawled out. She looked towards the cat who was a few paces behind. He looked back, and a silent understanding was exchanged.
"Come on demon, we've gotta catch up. We've got a girl to save."
"Do you really think you can save her? After all, that's happened?"
Noelle smirked, face glowing with ideas and plans. It was ridiculous, simple, and reckless, but it was Noelle's style.
"Of course."
Viola ran through the bushes, chasing after Ellen. Seeing her true body made her want to cry. It was what she'd been dreaming of, constantly hoping for. Now here it was before her, just feet away.
But inside of it was a girl more inhuman than Viola had thought possible.
Never in her dreams had Viola realized the cruelty of other people before the body switch. Even after her mother passed away, she hadn't known how evil the world was. The darkness that clouded it constantly, always waiting to snatch another victim.
Her friendship had been sincere, childishly naïve. But who would have expected such a harsh twist of events, where a seemingly kind girl turned into a cruel witch? Viola hadn't thought of such a change. And now she was reaping the consequences.
But now, with Noelle, she could try to get the light back. Noelle had known of death and loneliness, of wanting something that may not be. Just seeing her conversation with the demon had given her a hope, even if it appeared selfish. With Noelle, she knew she wasn't alone anymore. There was a girl on her side, someone who was giving up everything for her. That was something Ellen had never done.
Viola ignored the blood pouring from her legs. The pain was indescribable, but the hope was stronger. Still, she could see Ellen disappearing.
I can catch up, I can catch up, I can catch up! Come on, just do it!
She raced across the clearing, following her target. Her world slowed, however, when she saw Ellen stop abruptly, and realized why.
Her father ran up to Ellen and embraced her. Viola watched, speechless, as his arms circled around the witch. She wanted to scream, to tell him the truth.
She's a liar! She wants to hurt you! She'll kill you! It's me, dad, it's your daughter!
There was a gun in one hand, causing fear to run through her veins. Would he try to shoot her? No, she was his precious daughter. He would never do that to her.
She ran closer, her heart breaking with every step. Ellen would hurt him, destroy him. She couldn't let another family member get damaged.
"d…d…d…" She cursed mentally. Why couldn't she sound like anything but a monster?
Her father looked up. Their eyes locked, and Viola gave him a look of pleading. Why wouldn't he see the girl beneath the mask?
"Father, it's the witch! She's been chasing me, trying to hurt me! Please help father!" Fake tears rolled down Ellen's face, clever and deceitful.
Viola cried out, a sound that came out as brutal and unfeeling. Her father raised the gun towards her head. Tears began to form in Viola's eyes.
"Get away from her, monster!" He sounded frantic, afraid. Afraid of the girl he had raised.
Perhaps this really was a hopeless endeavor. Maybe Noelle had been foolish all along. Was she watching this, laughing along with that stupid demon? Had Viola been stupid to trust the time traveler?
"Da…Dag…Da…." She tried to sound it out, to let him hear it. If he did, he would know the truth. Or, at least, he wouldn't be so inclined to shoot her.
His finger lay upon the trigger, and Viola didn't expect what happened next.
"…monster!"
Noelle watched Viola's father speak, his hands trembling against the gun he held. She wanted to hate him, even though she knew it wasn't his fault. How was he to know the truth? But now was the time to act. She would not let this be an unhappy ending.
She jumped out of her hiding spot and ran into the clearing of grass, to Viola.
"STOP!" She yelled, lunging out towards Viola.
In one great stride, she stood in front of the innocent girl. Viola's father glanced at all of them frantically, as if he didn't know what was happening. Ellen stared at Noelle, hatred aglow.
"She's your daughter!" Noelle screamed angrily. "You're trying to murder your own daughter! The witch is here, but she doesn't lie in this body." She pointed to Viola for emphasis.
The gun lowered slightly. Noelle let out a small sigh of relief, but she didn't let her guard down. She would stand in front of Viola as long as needed until the truth was fully known.
Still, as she looked at Ellen, who had a look of hatred and want for vengeance, she felt pity. Ellen was the witch and, at the first glance, a villain. But wasn't she a victim, like everyone else? Hadn't she suffered as much as Noelle and Viola had?
Inside of that body was a young, lost soul. Someone who needed to be freed. And a happy ending, to Noelle, was a happy ending for everyone. Especially to the ones who didn't deserve it.
"Stop this bloodlust," Noelle said calmly. "The witch is before us, but she is powerless in her form. Right now, we need to make another plan, a plan that doesn't involve us killing one another. We can work this out. I know you don't want this to end in death, sir. Like me, you want peace. You can get that and your daughter, I swear!"
"Who is this witch?" The father said wildly, his gun alive again. He waved it at Noelle, causing her to cringe in terror. "WHO IS IT?"
"Ellen, tell him the truth!" Noelle yelled. "Tell him what really happened, how it all started."
He would believe the witch. He would understand, he'd take Viola, and everything would end the way it was supposed to. The cat would take Noelle home, realizing he'd lost the fight. Everything would be right and the way it was meant to be.
But those stories are fairy tales.
"NO!" Ellen screeched. Her cool, calculated self was dissipating, replaced with the real one. "Not until this happens the way I want it to! I want a body; I want a disease free life!"
Noelle wanted to shush her, to try to make things more rational. This wasn't going to end well at this rate, not with everyone in hysterics.
But now, Viola's father was piecing it together. Ellen's outburst would have made it obvious to anyone.
"Are you saying…" The man said slowly, each word laced with venom. "That my daughter is the bleeding girl on the ground, and the witch is the girl standing next to me?"
Noelle opened her mouth to speak, to change the situation, but nothing could be said. The gun swiveled, but this time towards Ellen.
"You changed my daughter?"
Ellen tried to protest, but nothing came out of her mouth. For the first time, the witch had run out of tricks in her bag.
No, this was all wrong. Noelle knew that much. Ellen wasn't going to die; she wouldn't let it end this way. No, nobody was going to die tonight. Everyone in this story had to live.
But Noelle was an addition, not an original. Her part had been played as part of the cat's plan. Now, it was time for it to end, just as the cat had dreamed it would.
She accepted her fate as it was, and she broke away from the chains that bound her.
Guess I'm not going home tonight. I love you, mom, dad, stepdad, Jonathan. This is goodbye, for now.
A single tear went down her face when she realized the truth.
She wasn't going to make it home.
"DIE YOU WITCH!" The father bellowed.
The trigger was pushed, and insanity began.
Ellen stared as the gun went off.
But the bullet never hit her.
Instead, it went through the girl she'd wanted to kill herself, Viola's little savior. The girl who had betrayed and tricked her through the entire tale.
And now, as Noelle crumbled to the ground, her calm was gone, replaced with a sense of loss and insanity.
It was laughable. She'd never truly thought Noelle was a friend. She had wanted to use her the whole time. Noelle had just been a pawn in a vicious cycle, the cycle she wanted to control.
So why was she starting to cry for real?
Ellen fell to her knees beside the body. Noelle's eyes were open, already becoming lifeless. This girl hadn't even wanted to die. Her reactions to the traps in the house had told her that much.
And she'd died for her. A witch, a girl who had murdered many without remorse. She'd cared enough to sacrifice her life.
"You…why?" Ellen yelled, her head falling onto the dead girl's stomach. Angst swallowed her mind, her heart, her soul.
Yet, she started to laugh.
"I was going to be the one to kill you! I was going to destroy every piece of you, I was going to have the perfect life with perfect dreams and a perfect body… YOU LITTLE WHORE! I was going to win; I was going to have the happy ending. Why, why, why, you stupid little girl! Now you're dead because you had empathy for a monster like me!"
Ellen looked up at Viola's father. His face had turned into a ghostly pale. She wanted to murder him and wipe that stupid look off his face.
"Well? Aren't you going to kill me? COME ON THEN. KILL ME!" She smacked her chest. "Shoot me, right where you shot her. You want to kill her, then you should just finish the job! Save your precious little daughter! You hear me, you sicko? KILL ME NOW!"
"E…E…l…N…o…."
Ellen looked over at Viola. Tears were streaming down her face, tears of anguish. How could that girl cry, when she'd never even known Noelle? She hadn't gone through the experiences Ellen had with Noelle. She couldn't possibly understand.
"That's…that's enough… that's enough bloodshed…" The father shook his head in disbelief. Was he realizing now just what he had done? Did he realize how he had shed innocent blood?
"Oh, is it? That's enough for you?" Ellen said insanely. She didn't care how she appeared anymore. Most likely, this would be her last stand. She would say whatever she wanted. "One death is enough? How about another? Whatever suits you best."
"I...I cannot save both Viola and this girl. I think you know that, witch."
Ellen howled at him in fury, but he ignored her. Instead, he went over to the quivering Viola. He picked her up, the blood not bothering him. Of course, it didn't. Why would he care how much pain and loss was caused by his actions? His little snowflake was all that mattered.
"Go away, witch. Perhaps you can save that girl." He sounded uncaring, his focus squarely on the girl in his arms. "You have magic, don't you?"
Viola struggled, but he held her tight. Ellen watched as the man trudged off with her, not bothering to talk to Ellen. He stumbled slightly as if the death actually had affected him.
He was gone within minutes, leaving the gun and blood in his wake. Ellen was still on her knees, covered in Noelle's blood. She threw her fists against the ground, crying out in despair.
"Don't like what happened?"
Ellen turned. The black cat waltzed into the scene nonchalantly, as if he knew this would happen.
Him. This was all his fault. Every stupid mistake she'd made was all a part of what he wanted. Why had she been so stupid all this time?
"That's too bad. I'd suggest you leave, go make a new life for yourself. You have a body now. Isn't that what you always wanted?"
"SHUT UP!" She said, clutching Noelle's body protectively. "What do you want?"
"Oh, you don't know? I don't make a habit of making bets I can't win somehow. And this bet is one I definitely won."
"How, you stupid demon?" She said, rubbing her blood stained face.
"Just wait. It's coming soon." He motioned towards Noelle's body.
A purple haze rose from Noelle's chest. It was a physical form, though it was hard to see. A sick feeling grew inside of Ellen.
"You're going to… to eat her soul?"
"But of course. Why would I let Viola live unless I didn't get something out of it?" He leaped in the air and caught the soul in his paws.
"It's only natural that I'd want something out of our little bargain. Now I have a nice meal. Not only that but innocent souls are extremely tasty."
Her eyes widened in horror. All along, this had been his plan. He had wanted to eat her soul. That was why Viola was allowed to live, but not Noelle. He had been playing on Noelle's good side, the side that was willing to love even Ellen unconditionally.
"You…you demon…YOU DEMON!" She wailed in agony, taking Noelle close to her.
Ellen had lost many, but this had been the worst. She hadn't realized Noelle's true loyalty until it was gone. Despite the lies, despite the betrayal, she had wanted the best for everyone.
And even a monster could understand that.
~Hours Later~
Viola's father walked over to the bed. His sickly daughter lay there, bleeding. She had fainted not long after he had arrived. A doctor tended to her wounds frantically.
"Will she live?" He asked urgently.
"We don't have the medicines for everything… but there's a chance we could stop the bleeding. Her life may not be long, but it will not be cut off so soon. There is hope."
They nodded to each other in silent agreement. Somehow, in some way, they would make this work. This would not be the end for his Viola. Never would he let this be the end of their journey.
His actions haunted him. The confusion, the chaos, all of it had clouded his senses. It had made him kill an innocent.
But now his daughter was back with him, even if it was in a different form. He would still continue to love her. In the end, they would make it through this. They would find loopholes to her deformities. Together, they would make a new life.
He'd just have to forget the girl who had died as a result. Slowly, they would all forget what had happened. They'd live a new life. The old mistakes would be forgotten.
Unfortunately for his daughter, she would not forget. She wouldn't forget her inability to help, to save her hero, and it would haunt her for the rest of her days. She would live only into her early twenties, but she would die happily, knowing Noelle would not want her to weep.
But, no matter how short it would be, she would live. To her father, that would always be enough.
~One month later~
The witch sat in an apple cart, a cloak keeping her face hidden. In the front, an older man whipped the horse that pulled them, urging him to go faster.
She watched the scenery go by, longing filling her heart. Today, she would leave everything she'd known. Ellen would go somewhere new, somewhere different. A place where her previous grievances would be forgotten and she could live as a normal girl. A pipedream turning into a reality.
"Where exactly are you going, little girl? It's a long journey to the next village. Where are your parents anyway?"
"They're gone, along with everyone else," she said roughly.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "The next city is open, full of gentle people. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to house with. Don't lose hope."
She chuckled harshly at his last words. Noelle had believed in such fantastical ideas. Now she was gone, her soul nonexistent. Did that mean she didn't get to go to Heaven? A forgotten hero for the rest of her days, no one knowing the sacrifice she had really made.
It was poetic, tragic, and it made Ellen want to cry. If anything, Ellen wanted justice. She wanted a world where good girls got Heaven and bad girls got Hell. Even if that meant that, in such a place, she would be the first one to burn in the flames.
"Say," Ellen said. "Do you think that souls taken by demons get to Heaven?"
"Quite the philosophical question for someone so young. You're full of mysteries, little girl."
"Many little girls experience tragedies made for adults."
"Very true…" Silence filled the cart for only a moment. The man fell into a coughing fit and, when he was done, answered her question.
"Pure souls go to heaven, young one. One way or another, they get there, somehow. All you have to do is have faith."
Ellen never really listened to adults, but she listened to this one.
She'd had faith before. She'd had faith in her parents, and they had failed. She'd had faith in those who came to visit her in the house, and they had failed. Viola hadn't failed, and she'd still betrayed her for her own selfish reasons.
But, maybe, just maybe, having faith in something she couldn't see was easier than that. She didn't have to hope that people would do the right thing in her skewed perspective. Instead, Ellen could rely on the supernatural, on something that she couldn't control.
Have faith huh?
And so she did, and every day afterward.
