I settled into the steaming water, which felt amazing. Elyse tried to talk to me outside the door, but I couldn’t understand what she said, so I just yelled back, “Uh huh!” It was probably something about her having to use the facilities. Tough luck, pixie, but this is my room now. I sunk down until just my head was above the water and looked over myself. I wonder why it always feels so weird to look at my own body. Maybe it is because it’s not actually mine, thanks to my mother.

Before I became this fragile-bodied girl, I was a powerful creature from the Void; daughter of a genius mage and the Voidwalker himself. Something happened in a battle with Akan’s forces, Akan being a once powerful tyrant who failed to realize that I would come back. My body was destroyed, but my mother moved my consciousness into this one, one in the image of her own liking. Of course, her own liking was herself, so I look identical to a younger version of her. Years after that, I was given my memories back by a demon named Lucelle, whom I haven’t seen since the Day of the World’s End- my glory days. After I got my memories back, my mother tried to take the Voidwalker’s gift from me, one that makes me more powerful than any other mage anywhere on the continent since I could go in and out of the Void as I wish. When my mother turned on me, I rejected the Everlock legacy, regained all my old allies, made some new ones, and then usurped Akan’s throne. Time went by, the world fell under total darkness, and then…

“Emily, hurry up!” And then, her. Why did she have to come along? I looked around the tub and found her hair supplies. I couldn’t understand her Fae writing, but I took the best smelling one and lathered it in my hair, making sure to use her gels as much as I could. I washed my body with some and then rinsed it all off. My hair was extremely smooth and soft, so my mission was accomplished. I picked up the bottles on the side of the tub and popped each one into the Void for safekeeping. They wouldn’t be lost, since I had a special place that I made my own home there. I could store both living and non-living things inside of it. Oh, Elyse would be so mad if she knew how many people and things I’ve stolen with this trick. All for a worthy cause, though.

“Emilyyyyy,” she whined.

“Yes, I know, I’m about done. Go suck on a sugar cube or something!”

“I’m watching my weight!” she snapped back. Right, as if sugar makes you gain weight or anything. As if you need to lose weight, you twig. I got out of the bath and used an excessive amount of magic to dry myself and send all the water down the drain. It was convenient, if anything. Quick, too.

“There you go, cupcake, all done now,” I told her when I walked out, holding one of her bath towels around my body.

She looked upset. “You used my shampoo! Those are mine, not yours!” she exclaimed. What is 'shampoo'?

“I have no clue what you’re talking about. I have my own gels that I use. It’s difficult to keep up this beautiful look, you know.”

“You’re a horrible liar, Pinky.”

What. I almost ran to her mirror and looked at myself. The white locks on the front right side of my head were dyed completely pink! I looked like a wannabe Fairy!

She had a smug look on her face and crossed her arms. “Mhm, that’s what you get for stealing my room from me.”

I let my anger subside before I turned to face her again. “First, I knew you were a fake. Second, get out of my room, Pixie.”

She giggled like a child and then skipped into the bathroom. Little bitch, you knew I was going to use your things. Let’s see how happy you are when you find your bed to be rotting.

When it came to be time for bed, I was busy soaking the pink color out of my hair. Such a perfect image ruined by a disgustingly feminine look. She was still in the room, reading a book in the corner. I was sitting cross-legged with a bowl of pinkish water in my lap. I took one of her darker nightgowns to use, despite it only going up to my knees and being a little tight around the waist. I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of harassing Elyse, though.

“This is very interesting. It’s about how you tried to destroy the world.” She was trying to pester me.

“Uh huh, how far does it go on about how bad of a person I am?”

“It talks about how you hanged the Emperor and then burnt out the sun.”

“No one can burn out the sun, that’s just ridiculous.”

“It said at one point that you are a creature of the Void.”

“Wouldn’t doubt it.” I forgot that she doesn’t know yet.

“And how you would go into villages just to burn down the leaders’ homes.”

“I did that once. That guy was a prick.”

“Oh, and how-“

“Enough, Elyse.” She gave me a pout and then put the book down again. Great, she was going to try to make more conversation.

“Why are you so rude to me?”

“Why do you insist that we be friends?”

She got up and came over to sit on the bed. “We are both very powerful people in this growing world.” Half of that was correct. “We’re like sisters, Emily, and I know you like me back.” None of that was correct. “And sisters work together… don’t they?”

“I never had a sister, and I never will.” I pulled my free hand from where it was since I saw her going for it. I wasn’t going to let her trick me into anything again.

“What would it take for you to be nice to me?”

“Three days in my dungeon. Alone.” She shuddered when I said that, even though she probably thought I was lying.

“In your dungeon? What’s… in there?”

“All of your wildest fantasies.” I faked a mystical tone and even gave a hand wave- she should have felt honored.

“Eugh. You don’t mean… demeaning things…?”

“Oh, the worst kinds. The absolute worst.” I was lying. I had some stone walls I could shackle her to, but that was about it.

“Like… whips and…”

“So many, and workers to help with them. You’ve got to be careful, though, because they forget the safeword sometimes.”

She looked completely astonished and disgusted at this point. “I… I’m going to pass.”

“Good, because I’d worry if you agreed to that. I don’t have those things in my dungeon.”

“Oh, thank the gods…”

“I have them behind my bedroom.” I was half joking that time, but she laughed like I wasn’t telling the truth at all. If she does end up showing her face around my home, I’ll surprise her. “Get off of my bed.”

“This is my bed, thank you.” She lied down next to me and then poked my side. Don’t touch me, you prissy little- “You’re getting a little chubby there, Emily.”

“That’s a stupid thing to say.”

“What? It’s true, you know. Right there,” she said as she grabbed my side, which made me flinch. I wasn’t getting bigger, I was finally eating right after years of starving myself for my research.

“Maybe you’re getting a little skinny. Do you think men like that?” I used my free hand to slap hers away and then point at her sticks for arms.

“I don’t care what men like.” She looked at me with an odd look.

“Don’t make me regret letting you see me like I was before.”

“You don’t have to worry. I didn’t look much at all, so your decency was saved.”

I got out as much as I could from my hair, but there was still a light tint of pink. I took the bowl to the bathroom and then came back to her being under the covers. I got under with her and positioned myself so that my back was to her, but I could feel her eyes on me. “Stop staring,” I told her.

“I’m not.”

“You look at me too much.”

“I do not.”

“You know, you kind of are like a sister.”

She perked up. “Really?”

“Mhm, you annoy me to death.” I turned, put my foot against her stomach, then kicked her off the bed. I heard the thud, turned onto my stomach, and then had what I imagined would be one of the greatest night’s sleep of my life.

 I woke up with my cheek against a cold floor. The area was pitch black and the air was cold. I thought it was the Void, but it didn’t feel the same. I stood up and looked around. Something is here, I instinctively thought. I started to walk, but I could feel something in the air, something I couldn’t let go of: fear.

My breathing was audible in the dark corridors of this place because of how quiet it was. I’m a brave woman, yet I couldn’t help but think there was something watching me. I used to tell myself that I’m not afraid of the darkness, but what could be hiding inside of it. That wasn’t any less true in this place- there was something out here hiding from my view.

“Emily,” a voice spoke in front of me. I knew that voice, but couldn’t put a name to it. A woman, kind, but confident. I tried to light a fire in my hand, but something was blocking my mana usage, so I began to walk towards the voice. I could see a few feet in front of me only, so I was preparing myself for anything. The voice spoke again, egging me on by only saying my name. After a few minutes of walking, I saw a light begin to glow. It was a horizontal band of light floating a little higher than eye level with me. It wasn’t too far away from me, so I kept walking.

“Emily,” it spoke for a third time. “What have you done to me?” What have I done to who? I didn’t do anything to anyone… at least not to warrant this. My heartbeat was picking up and I began to get paranoid. Another light began to glow to the left of the first in the shape of a rippling crack quite a bit lower than the band. A third lit up to the right of the first in the shape of a molded square. There were more things around me, I could feel them staring at me now. I feared turning around because I could swear there was something breathing down my neck.

I became paralyzed as the middle band of light flew forward towards me. I felt an excruciating pain in my stomach, then I remembered- Uryssia. As if on cue, the lights dimmed and the area became brighter. Uryssia, a woman who once loved me, stood inches from my face. She was an amazing fighter because of how quick she was with her sword; the same sword that was now plunged into my body by her hands. “What have you done to me, Emily?!” she screamed in my face. Chills were sent down my spine as I saw the other two behind her: Ezalen and Enrin. All three of them were beings that I made to defeat all others. All three of them lost their lives two times because of me. All three of them began to scream, yelling at me and questioning what I had done to them.

I woke up in a cold sweat in the bed. I had my hand to my chest, but another hand was on my arm. It was Elyse’s, and she looked worried even in the dark. “Emily, what’s wrong? You screamed…”

I slowed my breathing and then lied back down, but my heart was still throbbing. “Just… just a dream.”

She lied down as well, now on her side while looking at me. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, I don’t.”

“It could help, Emily.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I snapped at her. She quieted down, and I could tell that I hurt her feelings, so I turned my back to her and sighed. “After my mother and friends tried to… ‘cure’ me of the Darkness, I rounded up as many allies as I could before I took the fortress that I live in now. The ones I had were not as… loyal as others, so I made some new friends. I found three sisters: Ezalen, Enrin, and Uryssia. I made them spend… I forget, maybe days or weeks in the Void with my other allies until they had completely lost who they were.”

I wasn’t getting any response, so I continued. “I chose them with remorse, mind you. One was blind, another was widowed, the last was an unconscious vegetable. All three of them were orphaned and barely living off what Enrin was bringing in. I offered them a chance for a better life… they took it. I gave them all enchanted items that made them worlds more powerful than they were before. I never asked for them to give their lives for me… but they did. They were willing to die for me, and it was the day of the fall that they all passed on. I still see their faces in my dreams; I put my heart into each and every one of those three, and… I lost three parts of me that day. I just can’t shake the feeling that… I did something terribly wrong to them.”

I felt her hand on my back. She put on a comforting tone and started to console me, “I don’t know much about your enchantments or how you treated them, but if they were willing to give their lives for you, I doubt you did anything wrong. It sounds like you helped them in more ways than one, Emily.”

I didn’t want to say anything, so I kept quiet. I guess she got the message, but wasn’t done trying to make me feel better. She wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her head against my back. I hate her and everything she is, but I must admit that it was nice to be embraced like that. I didn’t go to sleep for a while out of fear of having another nightmare, and at one point, I thought I heard Elyse weeping against me. I probably should have said something or acknowledged it, but I thought that if she didn’t cry when she thought I was awake, then she probably didn’t want any help. After all, it’s been a long day and I doubt she could take any more of me, so I planted a small seed of happiness into her mind. Well, that’s the sappy way of saying that I used my Psionics to make her feel relaxed and tired, then played a very soft lullaby in her head. She stopped crying soon after, so I guess I’m not as bad as she thinks I am. If only she knew.