Annalise 

"I was ordered to put a curse on a half demon," Angela began to explain, shifting nervously under the hawkish gaze of both Harvey and Eugene. "They said they didn't want her to realise who she was, or the power that she contained. She would be too dangerous. They had me bind her soul to that house. Had I not cursed her, she would have slowly regenerated and woken up again. It's why her body has been in a permanent sort of status. She can't decay, nor can she regenerate. She just is."

A light green film spread across her fingers as she talked, and Annalise looked on anxiously. She supposed it made sense, what she was saying. It explained why she hadn't been able to leave the house for so long, and why her body never did decay. Angela's fingers once again fluttered other the birthmark, and the deep green magic began to seep into it.

"This is where I placed the curse," Angela muttered, almost under her breath. Annalise paused for a moment. That wasn't right? Surely, that couldn't be right. She'd had that birthmark since she was born. She couldn't remember a time when it wasn't there.

Harvey hummed nonchalantly, crossing his arms as he nodded. "I thought as much, I could read your magic signature the strongest there," He agreed. Annalise shock her head, momentarily forgetting that the two witches couldn't see her. Gene, as always, seemed to pick up her panic from a mile away. Giving her a look, as if to say 'whats wrong?'.

"That's...its.. That's my birthmark. I've had that for years!" Annalise stuttered, waving a finger towards the mark. He nodded, shifting his head to look at the ginger haired witch suspiciously.

"She said she's always had that birthmark." Eugene stated bluntly, eyes narrowing. Angela rose a slim eyebrow, the magic momentarily halting in its flow. She tilted her head in thought for a beat.

"Hmm, I guess she's here then?" Angela assumed, looking around the garden. "I should have known that a simple curse wouldn't be enough to hold back a demon soul for too long,". Gene coughed pointedly, scowling at her.

"Well, it's not uncommon for people or should I say souls, to experience side effects after being cursed. The curse probably messed with her memory," She related back to them, after some prompting. She shook her head, as if to dismiss the thought and then continued. "Where is it?".

No one answered. Annalise was too busy digesting the new information. If her birthmark wasn't even her actual birthmark. Then what else wasn't real? What else did her mind make up in the limbo she'd been living in. She looked to the one real thing in all of this. Him.

Gene was scowling something ferocious as he mussed over the words Angela had just spoken. Annalise, for all intents and purposes, hated being what she was. A half demon lost in limbo. But for once she wanted to be able to access some sort of the power these people had been telling her she had. If only to see into his mind for one moment, to understand what had put such a disgusted look on his face.

"She." Eugene demanded. "Where is she. Not it." Well, that was probably what had him so caught up then. There was a darkness in his voice Annalise had never heard before and it seemed to have its intended effect. Angela palled considerably, reiterating his words with a trembling voice.

"Where is she then?" Angela asked cautiously . Seemingly pacified by her correction, Eugene pointed to the exact spot Annalise stood. Unconsciously, Anna shifted closer to them, peeking over their shoulders to see what was going on.

"Tell her then, that she needs to get as close to her body as she can," Angela urged, unaware that Annalise heard every word she said. Gene looked at Annalise beseechingly, one eyebrow raised as he jerked his head towards her body. Annalise smiled lightly, but it strained heavily against the stress that consumed her.

Awkwardly she moved closer to the body, sat right besides where it lead on Angela's lap. She peered over her own body. Face to face with herself. Her hair falling over her shoulders to touch the hair of dead body. It was so bizarre and unsettling. The body's eyes were closed, but her pale blue lips were parted slightly, stuck in a permanent scream. Was this what she looked like? Was this who she was?

The anxiety bubbled in her stomach like acid, and she was unable to sit still. She was quickly interrupted by Angela's musings. "That's amazing," Angela mumbled, looking towards Eugene and back at the dead body. "Do you two have some sort of telepathic link or something?". He rolled his eyes, but made no other comment.

Eugene looked at Annalise, raising his eyebrow in question. 'Are you ready?' hung silent in the air between them. It was now or never. Annalise nodded solemnly, and returned back to her position, sat as close as possible to her body. "She's as close as she can be," Eugene said.

"Can you point out where her soul is for me?" Angela asked. Gene simply pointed next to her dead body, exactly where she was perched. Raising the hand that wasn't touching her 'birthmark' or rather curse mark, she reached out to where Gene pointed. Her hands and fingers outstretched, each glowing a faint green. Her hand was almost touching the tip of Annalise's nose, and she had to wonder. Angela probably had no clue of how close she was to touching her now. It was weird. 

For a few moments, there was nothing. Annalise had braced herself for anything really, some kind of pain? Some enormous transformation? Something a bit more.. Magical? Angela scoffed loudly. "Could you be quiet please?" She spat, glaring at Eugene, who's fingers had begun to tap on his legs. A nervous habit of his. "I can hear your anxiety from here," Angela said it, as though the very thought of worrying for someone else was abhorrent.

Gene said nothing, but the tapping stopped. Once again Annalise braced herself, watching as the green magic twirled around Angela's fingers, then her 'birthmark', and then finally right in front of her face. A wave of vertigo overcame her, and she lurched forward, placing a hand in front her to stop from falling.

Her vision began to tunnel, in and out. Gene and Angela mixed into one bizarre heatwave, and the world around her spun. A chill ran up and down her spine. A chill. Just a whisper of the wind she could feel on her skin. The wind. On her own skin. Something she hadn't properly felt in 5 whole years. She didn't know it could even be something she missed. But now, feeling it caress her skin. Oh, she had longed for this.

She lurched forward once again as the dizziness became too much, clenching her eyes shut in an attempt to stop the spinning. When she opened her eyes once more, she could vaguely make out the face of Angela above her. Just as if she was led on her lap.. And then it was darkness. 

Authors Note: 

Hi hi hi hi!! Omg, i loved writing this chapter for some reason. Did you guys see the cover art that @rosavet made? Isn't it great! Please go check her out and the stuff she has done! 

How are you guys, hope you're all keeping well and safe <3 I linked the song above, mainly cause its just one of my feel good songs. I wasn't really sure what to link here lol 

Lots of love,

Sam.E 

Word Count: 1263