"Hello fellow student. How is this blessed day treating you?"

As soon as he came out of his room, Dominic was startled by the overly chipper voice of his roommate greeting him.

"What is- The fuck?"

Despite the amicable tone and the bright smile on her lips, when he zoomed in to take a better look at her face and overall appearance, he jumped in half surprise half horror.

Hazel had deeply sunken eyes made worse by purpley dark circles. Her shirt —which Dominic had seen her wear for the past 5 days— was crumpled and peppered with mysterious stains, the rest of her body was covered by a long christmas plaid and her usually warm brown skin was turning into a sickly taupe color. Her entire appearance, from her tousled hair to her coffee-filled mug, screamed of despair.

Although Dominic still hadn't answered her question, Hazel, seemingly at the threshold of death , asked another one.

"Have you seen my glasses? I've searched the whole apartment, but I can't find them anywhere. I'm starting to think I've left them at school and that would be the cherry on the shitty cake that is my life right now."

Her voice was trembling slightly and Dominic could see tears threatening to fall from her bloodshot eyes. These couple of weeks had really been hard on her. Throughout the year she had been buried under assignments, books to read and exams to study for but it had never been like this. They had both expected Khâgne to be harder than the first year had been, that was why he had left for university while Hazel had stubbornly persisted saying : 'Just wait and see, I'll make khâgne my bitch'. 

Fast Forward 4 months and several meltdowns later, she was on the verge of collapsing and Dominic was more convinced than ever that he had made the best decision. Needless to say that Hazel hadn't made khâgne her bitch.

"I didn't, but I'll keep an eye open. What happened to you though? You look like you got run over by a double-decker or three. I'm not even going to ask if you're okay because you're obviously not."

"I'm not okay. To be honest, I'm a few seconds away from losing my shit."

"That bad? What happened?"

"I have 3 papers to write for the end week and I just started today. Writing one takes me at least 3 days so I'm kinda fucked." She started explaining with a humorless laugh. "And for once it's not even because I procrastinated. I could halfass all of them like they obviously expect me to do but I don't want to do that! What's the point of giving us work if you don't give us the time to do it correctly. To that, you add the sheer incompetence of the administration. Like, how hard could it be to reply to one fucking email?! I swear to god, I sent that mail 5 days ago and I'm still waiting for an answer. How am I expected to do my job properly when the entire staff of this fucking school sucks this much? And also can we please talk about Morisseau's assignment? Does he have any idea how many books i'll have to read just for this fucking presentation? I'll literally have to live in the library at this point. Forget my comfortable bed and the apartment that I pay rent for, I'll just camp outside the library for the next 3 weeks because some lazy professor decided to use his students to do his class for him unpaid. I swear to motherfucking god this school is sucking the life out of my soul!!! I'm at a point where I'm seriously considering burning the entire building and taking everyone to hell with me!"

At the end of her rant, Hazel looked winded, like she had just run up 10 flights of stairs. Her coffee mug has somehow disappeared from her hand and ended up on the nearby table.

"There, there." Dominic patted her back gently. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah. I needed this."

"You can complain more if you want. Let out your grievances, I'll listen."

"Thanks Dom, you're the best. I'll be okay, don't worry. You're busy too, I won't monopolize the little time you have."

"Okay. But if you feel like you'll explode, I'm right here. Come talk to me before you decide to burn the apartment or any other building."

Hazel chuckled.

She never thought she'd enjoy living with a roommate. It wasn't that she didn't like people, she did, with parsimony. When she left her home in Strasbourg to study in Paris, she had been happy to finally have her own space and to finally live alone. However, apartment prices in the capitale quickly shot her hopes down and she begrudgingly accepted that sharing an apartment would be better suited for her budget.

She had been living in this apartment with Dominic and Adrien for a year and a half and she had to admit that the cohabitation was smoother than what she had first expected. They had their own spaces and didn't infringe on each other's, but at the same time, they had developed a close friendship around their shared school struggles.

"I'll just use my rage as fuel to finish these papers. My sister is coming to visit this weekend so i won't have the time to work on them then."

"Amy, right?"

"Yeah. She's interested in going for a prep school too, so it's my job as her big sister to destroy her dreams by showing her the agony and trauma of Hypokhâgne."

"Sign me up! If I can spare another soul from this fate, I'd have done my good deed of the year."

They both broke in a fit of laughter, laughing at their shared pain for lack of a better reaction.

"Not that this bonding time is not fun but I have class in 10 minutes and I'm already late. see you in 2 hours."

After Dominic closed the front door, Hazel left her mug in the kitchen and walked back to her room with the intention of finishing her paper on the Franco-Prussian War. She was half way in when the front door suddenly reopened, startling her. Dominic slid his head through the crack.

"Gonna go pick up some lebanese food on my way back. Want some?"

"Yeah."

"Okay! Text me what you want."

"I'll have some 2 meat sambousek and 2 Jebnes with some moutabal and hummus on the side please."

"But I just said— just text it to me, okay."

"But you're right there."

"I know but still text it! Otherwise, I'm not gonna remember your order, you won't like what I'll get you and you'll be hangry and sulky for the rest of the day."

"Urgh!!!"

"Just text it! Easier for you and me both."

"Ok, fine."

"Bye." He threw before closing the door. Hazel barely had the time to scream, "don't come back without my food" in his general direction.

The door was closed but she knew the message had been conveyed.

 

---

 

"Hey you!"

Hazel was brought back to reality by a familiar chipper voice greeting her.

"Sorry I'm late", the young woman said as she sat in the chair opposite to Hazel, placing her ridiculously small handbag on the table next to the now lukewarm hibiscus tea. "I got lost on my way here."

Although she was apologizing, she didn't sound apologetic at all, her voice and expression cheerful without a trace of remorse.

"It's fine." Hazel let out an exasperated sigh. "You're only 30 minutes late, it's not the worst you've done so I guess I shouldn't be mad."

Amy rolled her eyes, ignoring the blatant jab. She had been at her sister's for less than 4 hours and Hazel was already showing signs of discomfort with her presence. Saying that her sister wasn't the most social person was an understatement. Hazel was the type of person who could spend months all on her own without feeling lonely. Amy was pretty sure that during the year and a half she spent away from her sister and mother, Hazel didn't miss them even a little bit.

"Time is a social construct anyway." she replied dismissively, "It's a concept humans invented and that we impose on ourselves and on others to avoid dealing with the inherent chaos of the universe."

"Is that your excuse Ames?", Hazel asked, the philosophical mumbo jumbo coming out of Amy's mouth only serving to frustrate her even more. "You should at least apologize for making me wait when you're the one who chose the time for this."

"I said I was sorry."

"But you aren't really. You're just saying that to appease me."

"Are we really going to do this Haze? We haven't seen each other in almost a year and you're going to lecture me about punctuality?"

"It's important. You can't keep bein—"

"Really Haze?"

"..."

"Is it so hard to tell you little sister you missed her that you'd rather dither on this?"

Hazel averted her gaze, choosing to observe her now empty glass more closely instead.

"..."

"Or maybe you didn't and you'd rather I leave you alone." Amy took her phone out of her bag. "I can find another train in an 1 hour from now so you'll only have to bear with my presence for a few more minutes. Sorry for being an inconvenience, I guess..."

"It's not that!" It came out as a barely comprehensible murmur.

"Mh?"

"Stay." she said not much louder.

"Could you repeat that? I didn't hear you clearly."

Somehow, Amy managed to flip the situation and gain the upper hand. Talking to her always turned out like that, she always knew how to use Hazel's weaknesses to her advantage at the right moment.

"Stop it!", the older young woman gritted her teeth, irritation rapidly overriding her guilt.

"Okay okay, I'll stop pushing my emotionally-constipated sister to her limits, she might implode."

Making the choice to ignore Amy's teasing, Hazel decided to change the subject.

"So... How is school?"

Amy rolled her eyes once more. It was so typical of her sister to start a conversation with the most cliché question. Even uncles and aunties who came to visit on christmas waited after they commented on how much you've grown before they pulled out the 'school' question.

"School is fine. If people didn't remind me of it every time they saw me, it almost wouldn't feel like the Bac is coming at the end of the year."

"Are you ready for it?"

"Maybe... I don't really care that much about it at the moment."

"Hm..."

"..."

Silence settled between the two sisters. Both felt awkward but neither knew where to take the conversation next. Both had a lot to ask but neither knew where to start or how to start.

"Did you—"

"I know—"

They both started at the same time.

"You go first." Hazel offered.

"I know you'll try to convince me not to but I really want to come here next year. The city is cool and you already have an apartment I can squat."

"And here I thought you wanted to come here because of my beautiful dazzling eyes."

"That's one of the reasons. I want to see you more often, not just for christmas. Knowing how you are, if I didn't force my presence on you, you wouldn't even remember I exist."

Although she said it with a joking tone, her words hit Hazel straight in her guilty conscience.

"You know that's not true. I would never forget how annoying you are." Hazel tried and failed to joke the awkwardness away.

"How affectionate." She replies, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

Feeling the atmosphere tense up once more and unsure what to respond, Hazel attempted, as seamlessly as she could, to change the subject.

"Soooo... How long will you be staying?"

"Why? Trying to get rid of me already? "

"Of course not. You know that's not what I meant."

"I'm only here for 2 days, don't worry I'll be out of your hair soon enough."

A long uncomfortable silence settled between the two sisters, neither attempting to break it for fear of adding more fuel to the already blazing flames.

Hazel kept opening and closing her mouth searching for the right words to make things better. She knew she had grown distant with her family in the last year. She hadn't really made an effort to stay in touch and she even ignored a few calls, pretending she was too busy with classes to call back. Amy's anger, no matter whether it manifested through thinly veiled accusation or straightforward slaps in her face, was perfectly warranted.

"You could stay longer... I mean if you want to." She offered tentatively, her hand playing with my spoon and her eyes focusing on anything but Amy. "My apartment is not that big but it's cozy and my second roommate is staying with his girlfriend so his room is pretty much free. If you wanted you could stay the whole week." Not waiting for her answer, Hazel kept speaking. "The city is pretty big so I doubt you've had enough time to visit this morning. And I have plenty of friends who major in Literature, you can meet them tomorrow."

Hazel's eyes rose to find her sister's, there was the faintest hint of a smile teasing Amy's lips, almost like she wanted to grin but was suppressing it.

"It is a very tempting offer. I would love nothing more than take advantage of your hospitality and tell your friends all your embarrassing childhood stories."

"On second thought, you've seen enough, you should go home now."

They both laughed. The tension was slowly lifting, replaced by a tentatively light-hearted conversation.

"No but really, I'd love to stay but I have classes and I already promised mom I'll go to the—" she paused suddenly uncomfortable again. "I promised that I'll go look around bridal salons with her."

The warm atmosphere that was starting to settle in disappeared almost immediately.

"Oh..." It was the best answer Hazel could come up with at that moment. "Why isn't she going with David?", She asked, already disliking the turn the conversation was taking. "Wouldn't it be simpler if they went together?"

"I guess, but he can't see her dress before the wedding, it's bad luck."

"After all this time she's still holding onto superstitions like these?" Hazel asked, wanting to sound nonchalant but the words came out with more venom than she intended. Almost like it was on auto-pilot, her mouth added, "It's not like it's her first wedding anyway. What worst luck could there be?"

She regretted saying them as soon the words came out of her mouth. She knew she was being unfair and the glare Amy sent me confirmed this feeling.

"I'll ignore that, for your sake and for mom's."

"I... You're right... I'm sorry."

"I forgive you. Now you just have to apologize to mom, or at least give her a call. She's worried about you, you know. She doesn't want to show it because she's still a bit mad at you but I know she misses you a lot."

"...Is she okay?"

"Mmh?"

"Mom... Is she okay?"

"She is. She's really happy with David. She could tell you that herself if the both of you stopped being so stubborn and learned how to communicate for a change."

Hazel chuckled. Amy, despite her eccentricities and many flaws, had moments like these when she was the voice of reason. Hazel would never tell her that though, the 18-year-old's ego was big enough, it didn't need to be fed more compliments.

"I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask." she replied, taking a sip of her untouched tea. She grimaced and put her glass back down not even attempting to drink again.

"You don't like it?" The older girl asked, as innocently as she could. "If you had arrived on time it would have been hot."

"You're still on that?!" Amy frowned, sending her older sister a disapproving look. "How much sugar did you pour in this? You know I like plain tea."

Her face was scrunched in a repulsed grimace, she pushed the mug away from her like the mere smell of it gave her nausea.

"An appropriate amount. Who even drinks plain tea? It's disgusting!"

"This is disgusting! It's mostly sugar, it doesn't even taste like tea anymore." She then downed her glass of water, rinsing her mouth, "I can already feel the assault on my enamel".

"First of all, you're being such a drama queen. Chill. Second, I pity your taste buds. Like seriously, what kind of decent human doesn't like sweets? We're literally wired to crave sugar."

"Well, I pity you tongue for not having the luxury of tasting the subtle but divine notes of a good tea, and your teeth for being in the mouth of a sugar junkie like you. Why am I even arguing with you? I know I'm right. Just don't ask me for my teeth when yours start falling down."

"Teeth are not kidneys. You should know that, it's basic knowledge."

"All the more reasons to take better care of them."

"Ugh... I forgot how much you like nagging about the most useless shit."

"Look at that! Is the pot calling the kettle black?"

Amy ordered another hibiscus tea, grumbling about her sister's questionable taste.

"You're insufferable." Hazel rolled her eyes.

"Like I said, pot calling the kettle black."

"Whatever. What do you want to eat?"

"The most expensive thing on the menu." The younger girl declared. She wasn’t paying anyway so she might as well try something way out of her budget.

"You obviously want to pay for your own meal."

The eighteen-year-old only giggled before quietly sipping her newly ordered beverage and sifting through the menu. 

Hazel couldn't help but smile at the scene. She wasn't very good at showing her love for her family but she did miss them. 

She and her sister had been close... or rather, Amy had always followed her around, imitating her and showing her affection. As her mother had once told her, Amy admired her big sister and would have wanted to be her twin. This trait of hers didn't disappear nor lessen with age, now she even wanted to attend the same prep school as her sister.

Hazel had hated her sister for the longest time. She had considered the younger girl a piece of gum stuck on her shoe, a burden she was forced to drag around wherever she went. She had craved some alone time but whenever she turned around, Amy was there, smiling like an idiot. It had infuriated her to no end.

Her desire for the peace and quiet of solitude didn't go away as she aged but her childish resentment toward her sister did. She could now admit that her sister wasn't a burden, her company was enjoyable... in small doses.

Although their conversation hadn't started well, they ate while catching up on each other's lives and talking about everything except their mother's incoming wedding.

"Did you have time to do a lot this morning?"

"Yeah. The Eiffel Tower was a bit underwhelming but overall it was fun. It would have been better if you were my guide but you were busy..."

"I'm sorry. I promise I'll be all yours tomorrow. I just have to finish one last paper."

They finished dessert and were almost ready to go their separate ways when Amy stopped Hazel.

"Oh! Before you go, take this." She then proceeded to lay a USB key on the table.

"What is this?"

"Your birthday gift."

"My birthday was 5 months ago Ames."

"Ugh! Just take it! It's my manuscript."

"Is it your book?"

"Yeah, can you read it and tell me what you think?"

When Hazel was still living at home, her sister had mentioned that she wanted to write a book. The older woman had joked saying that seeing the way she procrastinated with everything, it would take a decade for her to finish even one short-story. But it was, apparently, and what’s more, a whole book.

"You finished it?"

Hazel was really bewildered.

This was Amy they were talking about. Ames. The girl never finished anything she started. Barely two years ago, she started taking dance lessons but abandoned only 2 weeks later. And yet, she had written a whole book.

"Yeah! 400K words! It was really hard but I feel like I could do this for the rest of my life."

"I'll give it a read."

"Thank you!" Ames thanked her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. "But you have to wait until I'm gone. I don't want to hear your complaints."

"Why? what did you write that would have me voice any complaint?" Hazel narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Nothing... " Her sister replied unconvincingly.

"Ames? Did you write about me again?"

"When did I ever—?"

"Everytime you try to write anything, you always make me the villain."

"It's because the role fits you so well!"

"You say that like I'm supposed to take it as a compliment."

"Yes you are! My villains are always the most interesting characters."

"I don't care! Don't write about me and stop making me the bad guy"

"She's not bad, she's just misunderstood. And I didn't write about you, I just... modeled one character's personality after you." The end of her sentence was spoken in barely audible mumblings.

"What's the name of the character?" Hazel asked, already knowing the answer.

"..."

"What is her name?"

"... Hazel..."

"Case and point."

"I swear you'll like her. Just read it before you judge it." Amy pleaded.

"Okay. But if I don't, you have to promise me that you'll stop writing me in your stories."

"But—"

"Promise!"

"Ugh! Fine. But I'm sure you'll like it so there is nothing for me to worry about."

"I'm pretty sure it's a romance novel, not a good start."

"Don't lie." Amy called her bluff. "Did you think I forgot about you crying at the end of Titanic? Or the tears you try to hide anytime we watch a sad romance movie. You pretend not to like it but I know your favourite genre is romance."

"Do you want me to drop kick you?" Hazel warned, her face flushed in embarrassment.

Ames only laughed ignoring her big sister's threat.

"I'll give you this one for free but if you want my next books, you'll have to pay me."

"What kind of predatory sales tactic is that? I buy you lunch and you try to scam me?" Hazel scoffed, doing her best to look offended.

"Hey! I just gave you my first work free of charge. Be grateful."

"Free of charge, she says while asking me to proofread it!" The older girl rolled her eyes. "should I just throw this in the trash?" She added, the chain of the USB key dangling from her pinky.

"No you should not!” Amy exclaimed, outraged, her hands desperately grasping for the USB key that Hazel was now keeping out of her reach. “Unless you want me to tell your roommates about your extremely embarrassing first kiss."

"I retract my offer, you're no longer welcome in my home. Pack your bags, honey, I'll shove you in the next train."

"Can't wait for us to be roomies next year." Amy replied, ignoring her sister’s last words as she got up and sauntered away. "Don't forget to pay for the meal and thanks for the allowance."

When Hazel looked down at the table where she had laid 40 euros only seconds ago, the bills were gone.

"Find your own place, and take these thieving hands of yours with you before I cut them clean off your wrists." Hazel shouted, annoyed.

"OMG! That sounds like something Hazel Vedar would say. Anyway, bye, love you!", was the only reply she got.

 

 

---

 

 

Two weeks later, Hazel's work load had considerably diminished and was now manageable. However one problem was immediately replaced with another problem, insomnia had taken over her nights.

Every night, she would toss and turn and curl up under her blanket in a futile attempt to find a more comfortable position. As the hours went by, the sweet release of slumber remained resolutely out of her reach while the smallest noises around her filled her ears. Tired of trying, she shoved the blanket aside, got up and turned her desk lights on.

Since she couldn't sleep, she decided she might as well do something with her free time.

She grabbed her computer and plugged in the USB key Amy had given her. As the document opened, her gaze landed on the title. Lovely Goddess.

Yikes.

She instinctively cringed. The name sounded particularly cliche and foreshadowed an even cringier and cliche story.

Still, Hazel decided to give it a chance, she already promised she would read and review it after all.

A small smile creeping up her lips, she slowly scrolled down the pages and started to read.

The story was well-written and surprisingly more interesting than what the title indicated. Amy definitely had talent for this. Hazel could only be proud of her sister.

By the time her alarm announced the morning, she had already read more than 3/4th of it.

"I can't believe i spent the whole night reading this."

She was baffled but what surprised her the most was the fact that she actually enjoyed doing it. It wasn't as cliche as the title made her assume, in fact, it was filled with complex and interesting characters that she easily grew attached to in the span of a night.

As for the villainess her sister told her about, she still didn't know whether she should be offended or honored by the comparison. Hazel Vedar shined through her intelligence, willpower and extraordinary determination, but she wasn't really a delight to the people around her. He was haughty but envious at the same time and quite mean and extremely possessive of the people she considered hers.

Although she wasn't the only morally bankrupt character, she stuck out more since her role was that of an antagonist. As the story progressed, the villainess was slowly but surely consumed by her envy and hatred for the protagonists.

She was slowly losing the power she had while the heroine was gaining more and more influence. Hazel knew where the story was going for her namesake, she was already on a slippery slope down destruction for the sake of the protagonists' happy ending.

Some part of her couldn't help but wonder : 'Is this how Amy sees me?'

Amy always made her the villain of her stories, that much she knew, but she never bothered with reading the other stories Amy had written. she always got mad at her sister for using her for inspiration without her consent. Now that she had read one of the characters her sister named after her, she couldn't help but wonder if it was Amy's way to deal with the resentment she held toward her big sister.

Ignoring the alarm that just rang, Hazel lied on her bed contemplating her relationship with Ames and her mom. She hadn't been the best sister or daughter. She had kept as much distance as she could between them, she had avoided going back even when she could and had refused to acknowledge David.

"I'll call them tomorrow and tell them that I'll be at the wedding." She told herself, her own words sounding more like a motivational speech than a plan.

Her thoughts went back to Amy. She could already imagine how the conversation would go when she'd tell her that she liked her story.

 

"Fine. You win I guess.”

"It's not a question of winning or losing, I'm just happy that you liked my work of art.”

"Stop being so smug about it.”

 

A grin formed on her lips as she turned off her third alarm.

Having already decided she wouldn't go to class today, she closed her eyes and immediately felt fatigue come back crashing down on her. Before she knew it, she had fallen deeply asleep.

 

 

---

 

 

Hazel rarely dreamt but when she did, her dreams were extremely weird and specific. Everytime, she dreamt of herself floating above strange places and people. Her mother had told her that it was because she was a creative person that her mind took her to new places in her sleep. She had felt like her mother's word held some truth. If her dreams were her subconscious condensing her thoughts and what she experienced during the day into a weird nonsensical narrative, then her mind was indeed very creative.

Her dreams had always been strange but she had never had control over them like she did now. She felt herself floating over a mansion and when she thought about approaching it, she felt herself being pulled towards it, like her body was fast-travelling.

In a few milliseconds, she was no longer above the mansion but what she assumed was inside it. She was now hovering above a sleeping woman.

She was beautiful. But what captivated Hazel the most was not her face but her hair. The strands of silver coily hair that peaked through her headwrap contrasted beautifully against her rich brown skin. Lying on her palanquin bed, dressed in a white night robe with the bed sheet covering most of her legs, she looked ethereal, almost like a still or a freshly done painting.

Mesmerized, Hazel could only stare and instinctively extend her hand towards the sleeping woman.

Slowly, her floating hand reached for the woman. When she came back to her senses, Hazel realized how close she had neared to the sleeping girl. She cringed at how creepy she was being. Truly! What kind of dream was this?

However, despite willing herself to stop in her tracks, her body kept creeping closer to the girl, it felt like she was being pulled by a force she couldn't resist. 

Realizing that something was amiss, she tried to move away, willing herself outside the mansion once again, but nothing worked.

Her now translucid hands were fully embedded in the woman's torso.

"What is... Fuck!" were the last words she managed to muster before she was fully sucked into the sleeping body.

 

 

---

 

 

Darkness.

Utter pitch black darkness was the only thing that welcomed her after she had been unwillingly plunged inside the sleeping woman's body. 

The originally fun lucid dream was quickly turning into a nightmare she wasn't sure she could handle.

She attempted to open her eyes or move her limbs but she couldn't feel her eyes, arms or legs. It felt almost like she had been disembodied and was now a consciousness floating in the vast starless void of the universe.

'Did I die in my sleep?' was the first question that came to her mind.

This was exactly how she had envisioned the afterlife. 

Not as paradise where good people enjoyed themselves for the rest of their afterlife or hell where bad people burned for eternity, not even as an endless cycle of death and reincarnation. No, she had always thought dying would be either her consciousness slowly slipping away and eventually disappearing, or that consciousness being forever stuck in an inescapable void.

She didn't know whether she should be glad or not.

'If this is hell, at least I'm not being tortured or burned alive.'

For what felt like hours, she stayed there, a cluster of thoughts floating in the void. With nothing else to do, she started counting and when she got bored of doing that, her mind wandered to her roommates. If she really died, they would be the first to discover her body.

She could picture Dominic opening her door after she failed to reply to his 20th message and discovering her lying on her bed like a sack of potatoes. She was convinced he would think nothing of it at first, he would think that she had collapsed, exhausted after an all-nighter, he would blame the ravages of khâgne for the state she was in. 

She didn't come out of her room that much so he wouldn't think it was strange that she was staying locked up for such a long period.

Dom would go to class and return to his room, thinking she was in one of her moods when she hated the whole world and didn't want to see anyone. He would leave her alone like the great roommate he was and realized only two days later, when the smell started to permeate the walls of the apartment, that something was wrong.

He would probably open the door to tell her that she seriously needed a shower, only to find her corpse lying there, in the same position he had left it a few days ago.

She knew it was weird to imagine her roommates discovering her body, it was even weirder to find humor in it. But she couldn't help it if her mind went and stayed there. To be honest, her environnement wasn't exactly conducive to happy colorful thoughts.

What's more, there was no harm in it since, despite her speculations, Hazel didn't really think she was dead. This thing was probably one of her weird dreams again or perhaps a stranger version of sleep paralysis. No matter what it was, she had no doubt there was a scientific explanation behind this.

"Oh what do we have here?"

Out of nowhere, a disembodied voice interrupted Hazel's train of thoughts.

"I knew I felt something come in but to think it ended up like this!" Came another voice.

"What do we do with her?"

"We should put her out of her misery of course. She doesn't have a core, how long will she even survive in this state?"

"Aren’t you curious though? It's the first time in a millennium that we get to see a Traveller."

"What about the other one? She was one too."

"Yeah but she was already under our jurisdiction. This one is not. She's not from here."

"No matter. I vote we do our job and extract her from this body."

"I vote we don't. Why do you always have to be such a party pooper?"

"It's not like she'll be able to survive much longer anyway and we can't exactly send her back."

"We can always help her..."

The other let out a long heavy sigh.

“... We’ve talked about this already. You have to stop trying to help these humans, it will only make things worse."

"This time is going to be different, I promise. I'll just give her the bare minimum. Enough to survive but not too much."

"Fine. But if she starts wrecking havock and goes on a murder spree like the last one you helped, you'll have to take care of it on your own."

"Deal!"

"Go on then. Do your thing."

"Yay! Please be a good person, okay. It won't be easy but at least you won't die right away."

Immediately after the voice pronounced these words, Hazel started feeling parts of her body again. First her torso, then the sensation spread throughout her newfound body.

It was strange, stranger than any of her dreams had ever been, longer too.

Before she even had the time to think about what happened or try and guess whose voices she had heard, she fell unconscious.