AUTHOR'S NOTES: Short chapter.

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The key, she had swallowed it, like she did last time. Slender and lean, she maneuvered her way out of the small door into the darkness of the Jones residence. An eyebrow arched and a smile to her lips, the Beldam walked to the stairs, on a mission to see a blossoming young woman before the Beldam departed for the night.

The door creaked opened and the figured made her way to the bed. Her hands, cold, touched the cheek of Coraline, causing the lady to stir.

How long had it been since the Beldam was on this side of the realm? More than 150 years, maybe, probably even more than two hundred. Here she was though. She could sew the buttons into Coraline and take her to her den, love her, and eat the life out of her but...but she didn't want to do that...that is, she didn't want to eat Caroline's life. She...she...

"Beldam," Coraline whispered to the witch. The coldness of Beldam's hand was overcome by warmth because of Coraline stirring. "Why are you here?"

"I'm about to go eat. It's your fault, Coraline. You left the key for me to consume."

The young lady was tired, exhausted and barely knew what she spoke. Her hands with blue fingernails, trailed Beldam's neck and chest. The hand slowly making its way down-

The Beldam stepped out of the way, she didn't want Coraline touching that part of her. She was still confused by it herself.

"Come to bed with me," Coraline's voice even softer. "You can leave in the morning. Please stay, Beldam."

To have Coraline begging for her to stay made her swallow her own saliva. But she shook her head, repeating her need to feast since it's been more than fifty years since her last meal, so she was ready.

And that was that. A couple of weeks had gone by, and Coraline made her way into her home. Doing her best to scurry past her parents, not wanting to hear the news. And as she did her night duties, her thoughts began to wonder just what could the Beldam feel like, and as the weeks drew on, Coraline's curiosity turned to spite, for the Beldam hadn't appeared to her since the night. When Coraline had checked the small door, it was bricked up. The Beldam was her own being, and a young boy, who was said to be runaway, was missing the next town over. She would love him, get bored, lock him away, allow him to die slowly, then feed off his soul for all eternity.

All those years ago, the Beldam called Coraline a selfish brat, and maybe, maybe she was. They were both selfish really.

The boy was dead in four months. Another silhouette added to the wall in the other world's dining room.

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Next update 12/9/2022.