Book 3 Chapter 18: Erase

Joan’s back and neck hurt, but it was a good pain. At least, she thought it was. She did wonder if she could have a desk brought to her room, though. Writing on a bed was incredibly uncomfortable and only made her handwriting even worse. The last thing she wanted was to, somehow, damn the world because her sloppy handwriting got misunderstood.

Then again, she doubted she’d be here very long anyway. She didn’t want to make them drag a desk all the way to her room just to leave a day or two later. Joan got to her feet and stretched for a moment, letting out a low groan. Even though she had taken a break midway through to bind her sword to herself, it still felt as if she had been writing for hours. At least it was done and she could now just relax.

Pulling the tome to her, she flipped through it once more just to be sure the ink had dried and that there wasn’t anything she missed. Once she was satisfied she locked it back up and walked to her door, pulling it open and stepping out from the room. Once she delivered it, she’d have nothing more to do for the night.

Or evening, she supposed. Once in the main hallway she could see outside once more and, while it was late and the sun was slowly sinking behind the horizon, it wasn’t night yet. She supposed she might just go to sleep early tonight. She imagined it’d make some of them faint if she actually started taking care of herself. She snickered at the thought and started to make her way towards Searle’s room.

She stopped when outside it, though, as she could hear voices inside. She almost knocked on the door, but hesitated when she realized it was a girl’s voice. Her cheeks turned a little redder. There was no possible way. Searle? She wondered if it was the side of her that had been the Hero in the past that suddenly felt proud of him or if it was Joan.

That pride disappeared once she realized it was Korgron’s voice she was hearing. After a moment she heard Andreas’ voice being added to the mix. All three of the chosen? Together? She wondered why they hadn’t invited her. She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t deny being curious. She leaned against the door before putting her ear to it, trying to pick out what they were saying.

“I can’t explain it,” Korgron said. “I just do.”

“I know what you mean,” Searle said, his voice filled with exasperation. “Hardwin said the same thing. No matter what he did, he couldn’t shake it.”

“It doesn’t make any sense though, right?” Andreas asked. “Everything she says?”

“None of it,” Korgron said. “Why would the gods even do this? If our world was damned, why give us another chance? More importantly, why take away the best tool we have to fight it and put a weak child in its place?”

Joan felt her heart start to beat faster. They were talking about her, they had to be. But why? After everything, did they really not believe her?

“Yet it all makes sense when she says it, doesn’t it?” Andreas asked.

“It really does,” Searle said.

“Even after Gil, I can’t bring myself to not really trust her,” Korgron said with an annoyed growl. “It’s like you all over again. You’re not good for much, you’re too tall, too clumsy, obnoxious, not a single good trait about you. I should absolutely loathe the idea of you being anywhere near my sister.”

“Don’t you know how to make a guy feel special,” Andreas said, his tone annoyed.

“And yet, for some reason, I can’t really loathe the idea of my amazing big sister being with a person like you. It doesn’t make any sense,” Korgron said.

“We’re the chosen,” Searle said. “It’s only natural we’d be drawn to each other. Even if we may not always agree with each other, or even like each other, we’re just more inclined to trust and care for each other.”

“But she’s not a chosen,” Korgron said. “Or a hero anymore, is she? Everything with Gil as well. ‘I just know’. That doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t, does it?”

“None,” Andreas said. “Isla still thinks she’s a spy. How about Bauteut?”

“Bauteut is just happy to be involved,” Searle said with a light chuckle. “But I think she trusts Joan. But if she’s the Hero, then this has to be natural. Right? I mean, she’s a part of our group even if she lost what made her special.”

“But it’s so weird,” Korgron said. “Every time she says something that’s utterly insane, I just believe it. I have to remind myself that she COULD be lying.”

“I know what you mean,” Andreas said. “Back when she was in that cage you have no idea how hard it was to let her panic and scream. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to save someone as desperately as I did there. If Isla wasn’t at risk, I would have blown my cover in a second.”

“I don’t like this,” Korgron said. “It feels like something is tampering with my mind. Like it’s some kind of big spell.”

“It’s what she is, what she represents,” Searle said. “We’re the chosen, she was the Hero. Even if she’s not that anymore, she’s still our friend. And for what it’s worth, I think the one hurting the most from this is her.”

“Probably,” Korgron said. “When I took her into the dream, the things I saw were horrific. Our bodies, all charred and burned. The smell. That burning monster. Seeing her so broken and sobbing was one of the worst things I thought I’d ever see. She’s going to kill herself at this rate.”

“You saw inside her, didn’t you?” Searle asked. “Her head? Is what Bauteut said right?”

“A little. Healing isn’t my specialty. I can do it better than most, but I’m hardly an expert. This requires a more fine touch. But I think she is,” Korgron said. “The more Joan tries to remember, the more damage she does to herself. She can’t live like this. If not for whatever spell was stopping the pain, I doubt she’d even be able to talk to us, let alone help.”

“It wouldn’t stop her,” Searle said. “She’d keep trying to remember everything, even if it killed her. Probably then try to run in, sword swinging.”

“Probably,” Andreas said. “She does seem the sort.”

“An idiot?” Korgron said.

“Not the word I’d use,” Andreas said. “Stubborn.”

“A stubborn idiot, then,” Korgron said. “Our stubborn idiot.”

“Closer,” Andreas said. “So what do we do about it?”

“What can we do?” Searle asked. “She’s the only hope we have against what’s coming. We need her to remember this. Even if it’s killing her, everything is at stake.”

“She’s at stake,” Korgron said.

“If we damned the world, but saved her, then that wouldn’t damage her any less,” Searle said. “Like it or not, we need her. We can’t ask her to stop trying to remember, either.”

“We don’t have to ask her,” Korgron said.

“What?” Searle and Andreas asked.

“Once this is all over. Once the Demon Lord is defeated and the Inferno God is gone, we won’t need her to remember anything else,” Korgron said. “Correct?”

“Well, yes,” Searle said. “But even after that, she’ll still have all those memories and probably keep trying to figure them all out.”

“But she won’t have to,” Korgron said.

“You’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting,” Andreas said. “She’s a child.”

“No, she’s not,” Korgron said. “She’s no more a child than you or I. She never got to be a child, she never had that chance. But we could give it to her.”

“What are you talking about?” Searle asked.

“Easy,” Korgron said. “We erase her memory. All of it, gone.”

Joan went entirely still, her mouth falling open. Erasing her memory? All of it? Korgron couldn’t be serious.

“Can you even do that?” Andreas asked.

“Yes,” Korgron said. “I could erase everything to before any of these heroic memories came up. Remove them. It would be as if she was waking up one day and just a child again.”

“And if it takes us years to get there?” Searle asked. “What if she’s in her twenties and then wakes up thinking she’s ten?”

“She won’t survive until her twenties at this point,” Korgron said viciously. “She’ll be lucky to live another few years if we don’t do something.”

“Erase everything?” Andreas asked. “She won’t remember us. She won’t even remember herself. It might even make her unable to fight ever again. Use her magic.”

“So?” Korgron asked. “If she’s safe, does that matter?”

“It’ll matter to her,” Searle said.

“Then we’ll make it not matter. Even if she can’t fight or use her magic, she’ll still have us,” Korgron said. “We’ll be there. We’ll keep her safe. We’ll protect her. We’ll give her the life she wasn’t allowed to have. More importantly, she won’t have any more pain. She won’t be dying anymore.”

“She won’t be the Hero, either,” Searle said. “She won’t be Joan.”

“Then we’ll help her be whoever she wants to be,” Korgron said. “If she’s lived so many lives, shouldn’t she be allowed at least one where she can be?”

Joan pulled away from the door, unable to listen to anymore. They couldn’t possibly mean that. Erase all of her memories? Erasing everything she’d been through? Why would they even consider such a thing? She wouldn’t be the Hero anymore. She wouldn’t be an anything then. She’d just be Joan.

Though, after a few moments she felt the initial alarm wear off and, to her surprise, that didn’t actually sound like the worst thing in the world. Being ‘just Joan’ actually sounded kind of nice. Relaxing. Even soothing.

If she was ‘just Joan’, who would she be? No more threats, no more danger. If the world was saved, did it matter if she didn’t remember any of this? If the chosen stood by her during that time, would it matter that she didn’t remember all of the pain and suffering?

If she never had to close her eyes again and see their bodies, wasn’t that okay?

Once she felt she could keep herself calm once more, she reached out and knocked on the door. After a few moments it opened and Searle stood in the doorway, looking at her. “Joan?” he asked.

“Joan?” Korgron asked.

“Yes,” Joan said. “Remember, the tome?” She held it out to Searle, a smile on her lips. “I think I’ve remembered all I can for now. So I think I’m going to go get some rest, okay? Are you and Korgron having a talk?”

“Yeah,” Searle said. “Andreas too.”

Joan gulped, but kept herself controlled for the moment. “Oh? All of the chosen? Anything I need to worry about?”

“Not at all,” Searle said far too quickly.

Joan managed to keep her face straight none the less. If he didn’t want to tell her, that was fine. She didn’t want to tell him she knew, either. “Okay. I am kind of tired, though. So if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to go get some rest.”

“Right,” Searle said before taking the book. He eyed it for a moment before looking up at her. “Joan?”

“Yes?” she asked, her heart beating a little faster, both hoping he would tell her and hoping he wouldn’t.

Searle struggled for a moment, looking like he might almost have a panic attack. Finally he sighed and shook his head. “We care about you too. Okay? So please be careful. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Joan gave a chuckle. “I know. But don’t worry, I haven’t fallen out of the bed in years. I think sleeping is something I can still do safely.”

“Right,” Searle said, his cheeks going even redder.

“So, speaking of that, I’m going to go do it,” she said before turning and starting to walk away. She could hear the door closing behind her and she paused a moment to glance back, just to be sure it had.

Once more she was alone in the hallway. Joan gave a soft sigh before she started walking again, though she went past her door. She just wanted to clear her head and she couldn’t imagine a better way to do it than just having a nice, short walk. So long as she stayed within the palace she was sure she would be fine.

Erasing her memories, forgetting all of the blood, sweat and tears. If the world was saved, did it matter if she didn’t know her part in it? Was it egotistical if she still wanted to remember? Or was forgetting everything just another form of running away? The Nameless One had offered her a way out, but she had turned that down. Was this the same thing?

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No, she supposed not. That was running away before everything else was settled. This was after the world was saved. Assuming the chosen kept with that intention. She lifted a hand to her head and gently rubbed her scalp. Did she want that? To just forget everything? To have it all go away?

She could be a normal girl for once. No threats. No world ending disasters. No constant fighting. No more questions. No more, no. That wasn’t right either. She’d still be her. Even without her memories. She’d try to figure it out, try to force it out. Try and find, someway, to remember everything. Because that was who she was. Any attempts to ignore it, to push it aside, were doomed to failure. She’d keep fighting to try and remember, even if it was impossible. Even if she wasn’t the Hero, she would always be his shadow.

But maybe they could break whatever was hurting her mind, instead. It might be possible, if they just found out what the cause was. She already had a few suspicions who might know something about it. Her murderer. Possibly--

The rest of her thoughts were scattered aside when she turned a corner and ran face first into someone else. Whoever they were they moved only a few inches back and she bounced off them, startled before stumbling and falling on her butt. She shook her head and looked up, about to say something before she froze.

Three demons were staring down at her, looking as startled as she felt. Old instincts almost kicked in and she was within instants of summoning her sword to her hand when she remembered that, first, she was a guest here. Second, even if they were bigger than her they weren’t THAT much bigger than her. They were kids, probably not a threat.

“I told you there were humans here,” the demon on the left said. “She’s one of the chosen.”

“I’m not one of the chosen,” Joan said. “I’m one of their attendants.” She started to get to her feet, but she was halfway up before she felt a hand on her shoulder and she was shoved back to the ground. “Hey!”

“You’re not one of the chosen?” the demon on the right said, the one who had shoved her. “You’re pretty rude, then. Shouldn’t you apologize? After all, you ran into us.”

Joan blinked a few times, staring up at them. She really didn’t like the looks the ones on the left and right were giving her. She’d seen those looks before, usually right before they tried to pick a fight with her. The one in the center, though, seemed oddly familiar. Bright red skin, twin black horns, his hands seemed almost normal and held no talons. She swore she’d seen him before. More importantly, he was looking her over, measuring her in some manner. Worse, he was the one she’d actually bumped into. The last thing she wanted was to get in a fight with a couple of kids, though. “Fine, I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Joan started to get up, but this time a foot came at her to shove her back down. She rolled back, narrowly avoiding the kick and sliding to her feet. Her eyes narrowed on them. Of all the things in the world she wanted to deal with, a couple of bullies was not on that list. “Don’t,” she said firmly.

The two on the left and right now looked a lot less confident about things, though. Staring at her for a moment before glancing back to the one in the center. Their leader? Perhaps. She really didn’t want to deal with this. Maybe if she just beat him down, this would all be over. She could already hear Bauteut scolding her for getting in a fight, though. And Korgron. And Searle. Probably Andreas. And Isla. She really had to get some friends who encouraged her to fight more, if just so less people scolded her all the time. Joan gave another soft sigh. “Listen, I don’t want to fight any of you, but if you make me I’ll bury your faces in the dirt. Are we clear?”

“Big words from a human,” the one on the right said. “You know who this is? This is Qakog the fourth, son of Qakog the third.”

“Really? I figured he’d be the son of Qakog the fifth,” Joan said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Then she paused. “Wait. Qakog?”

------

The Hero whimpered when Neia, as painlessly as she could, slowly healed the gaping hole in his hip. Korgron, meanwhile, paced back and forth. Radiating anger and annoyance. “I warned you,” the demon said.

“I couldn’t turn him down,” the Hero said, letting out a light hiss when the bone regrew. “Careful.”

“You’re lucky to be alive,” Neia said with a roll of her eyes. “If you were any other human, you’d have died a dozen times in that fight.”

“What was I supposed to do?” the Hero asked. “It was all for the ultimate prize. They’d have never relented, otherwise. Would they, Korgron?”

“You’re an idiot,” Korgron said again. “A damn, bloody idiot.”

“Not all of this blood is mine, some of it is his,” the Hero said with a cocky grin.

“I warned you. Young or not, he is one of the greatest warriors in our village. You should have taken the Star with you,” Korgron said again, the fury radiating off her voice.

“It wouldn’t have been very sporting,” the Hero said. “I could hardly win your hand if I had an unfair advantage, now could I?”

Korgron stopped for a moment before shaking her head. “No. You fool. I thought you were both going to kill each other.”

“We both nearly did,” the Hero said. “I look forward to the remat-- OW!”

“There’s not going to be any rematch if you want me to heal you,” Neia said, her voice dripping with venom.

------

“Qagok the fourth?” Joan asked. “As in the Piercer of Bark? The Viper of Leaves? The Dusk of the Bog?”

“What did you call me?” Qagok asked. Until a moment ago he had seemed so calm, but now he looked furious.

“Uhhhh,” Joan said, taking a small step back. Of all the people she wanted to fight, Qagok was definitely not one of them. “Your titles?”

The other two demons were snickering now, their hands over their mouths. “You’re not going to let a human talk to you like that, are you?” the one on the left asked.

“What? What’d I say?” Joan asked, taking another step back. She had a really bad feeling and the more the other two laughed the angrier Qagok seemed to be getting. She wondered if she should just turn and run now.

As if the universe heard those thoughts, Qagok suddenly made the choice for her and lunged, swinging his right fist at her.

Joan mentally screamed, watching the fist come at her before moving quickly. Lifetimes of fighting without a weapon took over and her right hand shot out. She struck the side of his fist, redirecting it past her. She then stepped in, her right foot kicking out as hard as it could into his ankle, knocking it out from under him. She gathered what little magic she could to reinforce her body for a few moments before ramming her right elbow into the back of his head, driving it as hard into him and moving with it, crashing him down to the ground with a single painful strike. She then rolled away and back to her feet, readying herself for the next strike.

Her right elbow and foot felt like they were on fire, but she’d managed to get him onto the ground. It might be the ideal time to run away. Before--

To her surprise, the other two demons were almost keeled over with laughter. She could almost feel warnings going off in her head and quickly looked around, but there was nobody else here. Was there something she missed? A trap? She glanced back to the fallen demon but he wasn’t doing much other than groaning now and reaching up, clutching his nose.

Wait, was he crying?

“I can’t believe you lost to a human!” the demon on the left said, tears of laughter going down his face.

“Nobody is going to believe this. A pathetic human,” the second said between laughter, having to lean against the wall to not fall over.

They weren’t laughing at her. They were laughing at Qagok. Just because he lost to her? Wasn’t he their ‘boss’? Had she gone too hard? She mentally yelled at herself again. Right, this was before he had all of his titles. Even if he would become a champion in the future, he was still really young and inexperienced. At best he might be impressive, but only for his age. He didn’t have millenia of combat experience to fall back on, either. He had taken the first swing though. Joan sighed and started to relax. At least it looked like it was over. She turned and started to walk away before things could get any worse.

“By the lion, are you crying? Oh, everyone is going to love this! Imagine, Qagok, being a big cry baby because a little human beat him up.”

Oh, that did it. Joan felt anger boiling inside her. Yes, she beat him up now. But she could beat up a lot of people. He was going to grow up to become one of the most powerful demons she’d ever met, aside from the Demon Lord and some of his generals. Who did these people think they were that they could just bully him like that?

Joan turned around again and started walking back towards them.

“Oh no, Qagok, she’s coming back. Maybe you should beg her for-- huh?” the demon on the left said, the smile coming off his lips when she walked right past the hurt demon and straight at them.

Joan stopped in front of the two before holding out her right hand towards them. “What did I tell you before? I’d bury your faces in the dirt?” A small bolt of electricity formed in her hand, exploding in a loud clap that echoed through the halls. “Well? You seemed so confident before. Come on. It’s two on one. How about you try and show him how it’s done if you think it’s so easy?”

All the smiles and laughter died in the pairs throat, the two quickly backing away. They shared a worried look for a moment before finally just turning and running away.

Joan let out a sigh of relief before pulling her right hand to her chest. Ow. Add her right palm to the list of things that now hurt. At least it had been a small enough spell that it was only really tingling, but she really doubted Bauteut would approve of her wasting her energy like that.

“Why did you do that?” Qagok asked.

Joan quickly turned around before she let out a soft sigh when she saw Qagok staring up at her. His hands were over his nose, holding it. There was a little bit of blood, but honestly the tears were what made her feel worse. “Because they were pathetic,” Joan said. “I just got lucky, is all.”

“Lucky?” Qagok asked.

“Lucky,” Joan said, trying to pick her words carefully.

“That wasn’t luck,” Qagok said before slowly pulling himself to his feet. “I didn’t trip or anything. You knew what to do. I saw it.”

Joan gave another soft sigh. The last thing she wanted was to make an enemy of him of all people. It would likely be years before he hit the point of being a complete threat to her, but like it or not there was going to be a time where his capabilities would vastly outperform her own unless she had the right weapons. “I was lucky in that we fought now. That’s all. You’re going to be amazing one day and if we fought then? You’d have broken me in seconds.”

“You called me the Piercer of Bark, though,” Qagok said.

“Yes,” Joan said. “That is you, isn’t it?”

Qagok nodded slowly. “Uh huh. But you don’t sound like you’re insulting me…”

Joan paused for a moment, trying to process that. “Is Piercer of Bark not a compliment?”

“Does it sound like one?” Qagok asked.

“Yes,” Joan said without thinking.

Qagok paused, staring at her, still holding his nose. “You called me other things, too.”

“Err, right, about that,” Joan said, nervously trying to think of a proper excuse. She then decided to just go with the old one. “I’m a seer. I get little snippets of the future, all of those titles? They were ones I knew you’d likely have eventually.”

“I will?” Qagok asked, his eyes going wide and staring at her in awe. “You can see that?”

“I can,” Joan said. “You’re going to grow up to be an amazing person, Qagok. So let’s not try and be enemies, okay? Because I’d really rather not fight you if I can avoid it. Please?” She held out her hand to him.

“I am?” Qagok asked, his chest puffing out a little before he took her hand and let her help him to his feet, standing over her.

“Yeah. One of the best,” Joan said with a small smile, though when she pulled her hand back she had to struggle with it for a moment to get him to let go. Fortunately he finally did. “If not the best. Trust me, I’ve seen it. So please don’t let this bother you, okay? Please don’t attack any more humans though.”

“Are all humans like you?” Qagok asked.

“There really aren’t any like me,” Joan said. “Trust me, if there were we’d have a lot more trouble. I’m kind of a handful.”

“So you’re the only one like you?” Qagok asked.

“Yes,” Joan said, a bit slower this time. She had another feeling of dread start to grow in her. It was only amplified when he suddenly reached out and gripped her shoulders, staring at her. It took all her willpower to resist punching him in the face.

“You’re not one of the chosen?” Qagok asked.

“No,” Joan said. “I’m Joan, I’m more of an attendant.”

“But you beat me,” Qagok said.

“I think beat might be a strong word,” Joan said nervously. She really didn’t like how tight his grip on her was, even if she enhanced her strength with her magic she doubted she could match it. He was going to grow up to be terrifying. “I just reacted correctly.”

“You still won,” Qagok said before letting her go. “I won’t lose next time.”

“Because I’m human?” Joan asked before giving a nervous laugh.

“No,” Qagok said before shaking his head. “Because I refuse to lose a second time.”

“Oh, good,” Joan said, inching away a little bit. “Just don’t go making any bad deals or anything for power, okay? Those never work out.”

“What?” Qagok said.

“Nothing. It’s just a thing. I should get going, really,” Joan said. “Trust me, though. You’re going to be amazing. I know you will. So let’s not be enemies, okay? I’d really rather not having you try to kill me.”

Qagok stared at her for a few moments, a look of bewilderment on his face. “Are you scared of me?”

“Scared is a strong word,” Joan said. “Wary, aware. Prepared. Trying to keep the list of who wants me dead to as small as possible.”

Qagok then gave a small chuckle. “Very well, then. Joan, attendant to the chosen. I will… err…” He stopped in mid sentence.

A hand came down on Joan’s shoulder suddenly and she jumped, turning around. Frisk stared down at her, a smile on his lips. “Ah, Jorn, was it?”

“Joan,” she said quickly. How in the world had he snuck up on her? She hadn’t even heard him.

“Right, her highnesses guest. I see you are acquainting yourself with some of the children of the guards. Qagok? You’re not supposed to be in this part of the castle.”

The boy quickly bowed his head, though he moved his hand over his nose. “Sorry, sir. I was… err…”

“A bit of roughhousing, I take it? Please ensure it does not happen again. Especially not with her highness’ very special guests,” Frisk said, giving a smile that was anything but friendly. “Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Qagok said.

“Now then,” Frisk said before he started walking, dragging Joan by her shoulder. “If you desire a tour of the castle, young miss, I can happily prepare one for you and the other attendant. However, I would ask that, for the time being, you remain in your room.”

Joan felt her cheeks going redder and she tried to pull away from the man, but his grip was quite firm and she was worried that if she tried too hard, she’d tear the robe. “I was just--”

“Returning to your room? Indeed,” Frisk said, his voice incredibly cold.

“But I just--”

“Will stop making trouble for her highness by snooping about the palace like an ill behaved child? Please do so,” Frisk said, his grip on her shoulder so tight it hurt now.

“Stop it!” Joan yelled. “You’re hurting me!”

To her surprise, Frisk let her go. She stumbled a few feet, before reaching out to grab the wall and steady herself. She looked up at him and, to her surprise, he didn’t even look mad. He just looked annoyed. “Very well, Jane. If you will return to your room, I won’t have to lead you so forcefully. Is that suitable?”

“Yes,” Joan said softly, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. She didn’t know what his problem was, but she wanted to punch him. Hard. Judging by the look on his face, the feeling was mutual. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Qagok staring at them and, to her surprise, he looked furious, but didn’t say anything. She hoped she hadn’t ended up making him an enemy after all. Joan turned and started walking again, reaching up to grab her shoulder. Frisk followed slowly behind her, Qagok soon disappearing around the corner.

Frisk paused for a moment once they were outside her room before glancing down at her. “Once you have had time to rest from your journey, I will have a tour of the palace prepared for you. Until then, please stay in your room. Do not harass the children of the guards, they have duties of their own.”

Joan gave a nod, but didn’t verbally agree. Instead she stepped into her room and closed the door behind herself, before leaning against it.

He was hiding something, she knew it. One way or another, she was going to find out what it was.

She then gave a sigh and shook her head. Or she just really annoyed him. She had gotten in a fight as soon as she got here. She supposed that was the more likely answer. She walked to her bed and jumped onto it, laying face down on the pillow.

Joan managed to not get murdered by a demon today, now she only had to try and make sure she met that goal every day and she’d get out of here just fine.