Everyone on the bus stared at the two women. They were standing at the dusty bus stop in the middle of nowhere. One of them was dressed in a skimpy get-up that looked like it was overpriced at Hot Topic. The other was somehow wearing less. They wouldn&#8217;t be out of place at an anime or erotic convention, but here? Neither of them moved when the driver opened the bus door. He was too quick to close it again and start his journey to their next stop.<br /><br />When the din of the engine died down enough, the Wicked Winged One spoke. &#8220;Are you ready to fulfill your part of our contract, Alice Stone?&#8221;<br /><br />&#8221;Nope, nope, not at all not at all but Ialreadyknowidon&#8217;treallyhave a choice. I&#8230;I really got everything I wanted out of it. All of the beheadings in all the different ways and always&#8230;always eventually getting my old noodle back. Somehow.&#8221; Alice had not stopped staring down Gatrixica, her binding demon, her old friend. But she was finally smiling.<br /><br />&#8220;Some&#8230;mystical way.&#8221; Gatrixica glowed with her words, but Alice couldn&#8217;t see the source of the glow. &#8220;And the whole time knowing&#8230;one day. One. Day. This Day.&#8221;<br /><br />Alice took a deep breath. &#8220;Yep. Today. The day I&#8230;don&#8217;t get my head back.&#8221;<br /><br />Gatrixica hovered without so much as a twinge of her wings. &#8220;You have my word, Alice Stone -&#8220;<br /><br />Darkness. Utter Emptiness. Erasure. Hollowed. Unmoored. Severed. Deprived.<br /><br />Decapitated.<br /><br />&#8221;&#8230;I will take the utmost care of this head that used to belong to you.&#8221;<br /><br />Unheard. Unseen. Unknown. Unsolvable. Unavailable. Unapproachable. Unfixable.<br /><br />Headless.<br /><br />&#8220;I will protect your former head from you. You wished to lose it. You have lost it permanently.&#8221; Alice&#8217;s head, which had been floating in the air with a vacancy behind her eyes, seemed to radiate light until it was blindingly white. Then it simply was not there anymore. Gatrixica laughed a vicious - yet not cruel - laugh.<br /><br />Alice teased and toyed at the flat top of her collar. Wait, flat top? Of a collar? Gatrixica had outdone herself to behead her in such surgical manner.<br /><br />She was beheaded. Alice had been beheaded before. But as she staggered in circles, she began to rethink the whole&#8230;contract-thing with Gatrixica. Maybe it wasn&#8217;t as good as she thought.<br /><br /><span class="username-with-symbol u"><a class="u regular username" href="https://www.deviantart.com/aver-no" target="_self">Aver-no</a><span class="user-symbol regular" data-quicktip-text="" data-show-tooltip="" data-gruser-type="regular"></span></span>&nbsp;