Dead Giveaway

The Witch You Couldn't Burn

"I had a complete breakdown at preschool. My brother was drowned by some idiot bullies and things kinda went to shit. I killed three children. I ran home and told my parents. They advanced on me, in completely different ways, I lost my shit and stabbed them. Yeah yeah you know that. You all know how I ended up in St. Mary's. That shit was all over the news and you ate it all up. You're fucking sick.

What you don't know is what patients in a mental ward actually went through. It wasn't like today where they're always watching you and you have to take the drawstrings out of your jacket so you don't strangle yourself with it. They don't come into your room and shine a light in your face to make sure you're asleep. If they got sick of you, they trapped you in a straightjacket and threw you in isolation for awhile. Because I was a killer, I was in isolation for my entire time.

I wasn't helpless. I figured out how to break out of the straightjackets. And the leather bed restraints. And the chains. And everything else they tried on me. I forced myself to throw up t medications to the point that my body just rejected them. I wasn't an idiot. I knew they were trying to kill me. I was the only one who got constant lobotomies. I have multiple scars under my eyes that not even my family knows about. They're hidden by my dark circles. I was the one who was constantly locked up. They wanted me gone. They didn't want to bother trying to treat me. What are you supposed to do, cure a psychopath? Not gonna happen. So they just didn't want to have to deal with me.

I had friends. The patients were a team. It was us against the doctors. Except for a few who either couldn't get out of their rooms or just didn't trust the rest of us, we were one force. Against the doctors, they knew we were unbeatable. We were protected by White Eyes.

No one knew where White Eyes came from or what her real name even was. She was a skilled witch. Her rituals and readings kept us from being hurt by our own dying sanity. The doctors were too afraid of her to even try and hurt anyone she cared for. She helped to deliver a baby and they tried to kill it. They backed out immediately when they realized she had blessed the baby. They stopped being outright cruel to me upon knowing she'd taken me as her apprentice. She was untouchable.

The doctors couldn't give up on trying to kill me though. Doing my rounds one night I figured out that in the morning I was going to get the electric chair. I wanted to die. I was so beyond suicidal at that point. But I was also stubborn. I didn't want them to have the satisfaction of killing me so I did it myself. I broke out of the asylum. I got across town to Mt Ebott and jumped down it. I wanted death so bad. And I was presumed to be dead.

Only instead of dying.. I woke up. Against my will I was alive. Azzy helped me up and brought me back to the castle. I must've shut myself in a room alone for three days before I came out for a slice of pie. And I was always scared. I thought I was going to be killed.

Azzy and I became inseparable. I lived with the Dreemurrs for six months. I lived and was treated as a princess.

In September of 1966, I got an idea. The monsters needed seven human souls to break the barrier trapping them there. I tricked Azzy. I poisoned myself with buttercups and fell ill. I told him to absorb my soul when I died and take my body to the surface. You see, a human soul combined with a monster soul will let one being cross the barrier. So we did it. I poisoned myself and fell sick. I died on October 11, 1966.

Azzy absorbed my soul and brought me body to the surface. The plan was for him to kill six humans. My soul combined with the other six would break the barrier. But he couldn't fight back. They killed him. His dust fell over Dad's flowers and Mom buried me underneath the flowers at the mountain's entrance.

Fast forward about 60 years. Frisk fell into the Underground and her sheer Determination woke me up. I followed her as an unwilling guardian for...." I mentally debated if I should explain the runs but ultimately decided not to "...about a year.  We got to the surface and she stayed with our mom. I was tied to her via her soul so I had to stay too. We brought Flowey up to the surface. Dr Alphys extracted the dust off him to bring my brother back. She also combined my body, soul, and spirit back into... me. Apparently the soil in the underground preserves dead bodies. So I'm back in my nine year old body, which was chock full of poisonous flowers but otherwise intact.

I frankly don't care how unbelievable this sounds. There's no other way I could stay nine years old despite dying in the 60s. You asked for an explanation. There you go."

Awkward coughing followed. No one knew what to say to me and I loved it. I took so much pleasure in confusing the shit out of people.

"Anything is possible when you've fallen into a land of monsters who use magic" Niel pitched in.

"...I suppose your story checks out. I believe that we have made our decision. Now to clarify. Miss Brodeur. Your intentions are to take Chara back to France. Mr and Mrs Serriff-Dreemurr, your intentions are to legally adopt her and continue raising her as you have."

Both parties nodded.

"Chara. You've made your opinions of who you want to live with quite well known."

I nodded vigorously. Something would really be have to be fucked up now for me to go with my aunt.

"I have reached my decision. It is clear to me who Chara is better off living with."

I found myself biting my nails. Despite knowing that there was no way I was going with Eponine I was freaked out. What if they thought I lied? What if they thought my family couldn't take care of me? What if I had to go to foster care? What if-

"Congratulations Chara Serriff-Dreemurr".