Chapter 58: The Lady’s Resolve

Since Viviane can remember, she's always been trapped.

Starting from a foggy lake, she thought she'd forever experience the pain of an empty basket drifting to her along with the haunted cries of a child that could've been.

Oh, how desperately she wanted to save this child! Unknowing of her past that led to this point, she thought, 'What have I done to deserve this?'

It may have been for good reasons.

Regardless, a chance was finally offered in the form of a green flame. Undisturbed by the waters, it overwhelmed, transferring her into the warmth of a new life — unexpectedly, to a sister, of sorts. Along with it came the imbued love and pride towards a human child who held meaning.

Gaining such a bright star, her basket was finally full.

Except Viviane remained trapped, silently bound to her new sister who brought comfort to her sweet artist instead. Forced to watch this love unfold was worse than when she was alone. Even after her child appeared to her, the lake lady wouldn't be satisfied with tasting her son as mere dreams.

And so, she took the plunge, assimilating into her sister who was truly free. It was an undoubtedly hasty move, but to break free from her prison once and for all, she'd do anything.

...

..

.

Blips of consciousness sprang since then, making a single day seem like years. This was nothing to Viviane, but unlike before, she had little sense of herself. It turned out she lacked energy to properly manifest, similar to Anne in the beginning. While having the abundance of energy and life all around her, it stubbornly refused to be shared.

Thus, Viviane had to muster herself whenever she could. If there was free energy to consume within reach, she had to take it. As this continued, her hunger slowly decreased until...

"I...think that's enough. She's not dissolving anything more. Viviane, are you better?"

"Mom, how are you sure you're not dissolving it?"

"Well, Mama can tell because there's supposed to be a reaction...er, it's hard to explain, but I'm not getting it here. Weirdly though, I can't tell where she is in me. My jello looks all the same!"

"Pfft...love, please don't say it like that. Anyway, shouldn't she be silver?"

"Well, she did turn blue when disappearing, remember?"

"Oh, that's right! We still don't know why she converted, huh?"

'These are...!'

Realizing she's been conscious for much longer than before, Viviane bursts forward as she breaks out of her empty-minded state, pulling upward with a groan.

"Ah?!"

Squeaking first among gasps, Anne leans away with one arm as she watches a blue mound build from her slimy pool. She partially melted her lower half in hopes it would make it easier for the lake dweller to come out while being fed. Now, it seems the effort has paid off, at least at the expense of her son's pantry.

However, the two artists near her remain concerned. With the kitchen nearly cleaned out, they thought what they poured wouldn't be enough. Their worry is still warranted, seeing how the growing slime stutters in its movement.

But of course, Anne can't keep herself in check any longer.

"Y-you...you idiot!" she growls, pushing forward and splatting the goopy mound against her upper body.

What's available of the weak slime responds with a poor murky groan, shivering against her sister's body.

"Anne...please..." Viviane whispers, barely forming lips as she struggles against her fellow sister's large chest.

"No!" her counterpart shouts, shutting her eyes tightly while her mind races. "Why did you do something as stupid as disappear inside of me when we should've been just testing? We share Amy together; you wanted us to be like sisters! So, how could you-"

"Mom, stop!"

"Let her reform first, love!"

Anne inhales sharply as the two artists snap her out of welling frustration. Sparing a sad smile, she retreats, drawing bridges of blue slime between her and the shaky sister.

Free again, the new slime jiggles with relief before pulling upward. Slowly, her shape refines into what she's known, somehow capturing the same deceptive silver elegance except blue and with less shine. As her straight hair grows out and chest jiggles outward from her slim body, she stops her growth, keeping her bottom half submerged in parallel with Anne. The former metallic beauty has finally come back to life, opening her eyelids softly as her awareness becomes grounded to her human-like form. Once situated, her gaze immediately locks on her worried sister.

Smiling bitterly as she recollects the events that brought her through, Viviane holds back her joy and lowers her head in shame.

"Anne, I'm truly sorry."

The slime mother's lips quiver before carefully leans forward to grab her sister's hands, squeezing. "I'm so glad that you actually came through, but what the hell were you thinking?"

"It was reckless," Viviane agrees, closing her eyes. After leaving some silence, she continues more firmly. "Even so, I don't regret passing up the chance to see if I could truly be part of you...to finally leave with you."

Anne holds her breath, unsatisfied with the response. She wants to scold more, but seeing her sister so unwavering, she finds herself increasingly at a loss. For a mystery who had been trapped for so long, is it unfair to expect a little patience?

Perhaps not.

Groaning with the last of her complaints buried, Anne sighs and forces herself to relax. "I don't like how it was done, but you're here now. Still, you know more than you've been leading us, sister. How are we supposed to be mothers together if I can't understand you?"

Viviane hesitates, then glances up towards Mary and Daniel, their eyes equal in wanting answers.

Would they come to doubt her? Fear her?

She knows she can't hide away anymore when she was hidden deep within Anne, her thoughts buried. Now that she's finally situated on Earth, there will be greater scrutiny to a past she hasn't fully understand.

"It's true that I haven't been completely open with you all," the slime begins. "I..."

"Wait a moment, er, mother," Daniel interrupts, clearing his throat. "First, let's get ourselves situated first. Can you separate from Anne?"

Viviane's eyes widen for a moment, her figurative heart leaping to hear the artist recognize her desired role. If anything, it shows that her son still wants to trust her, even after her selfishness to disappear without warning.

"I see my child is still embarrassed to call me mommy," she teases lightly.

Daniel's face flushes in response. "Seriously, everyone is so..."

Viviane giggles and waves her hands. "No worries, my child. Of course, let me try."

With that, the rest of the former silver beauty rises, pulling more of the slime pool as she shapes up the rest of her body. Compared to before, it's an easier formation, with only a decent hip and fine legs to build.

It's a spectacle Daniel has seen before with Anne, yet he still can't help be drawn in by how his new slime mother's body molds with finer details. It's as if invisible hands around her were shaping pottery from clay.

Catching her son's obvious wonder, Viviane hums gleefully before taking her first step towards him.

Yes, to her beloved child.

Splick!

There's a small resistance from Anne's mass as the elder sister departs, but otherwise, she pulls away without problem.

For Anne, it raises questions such as how her sister came to be carried. Did her body generate new slime for her sister, or did she take away mass? Unfortunately, she lacks any sense of weight about her body to come to any conclusion.

"Oh, Daniel...my child," Viviane calls, drawing closer.

The sweetly called artist thins his lips, but doesn't pull away as the lake dweller presses against him, raising her hands against his cheek. Although she may be less firm compared to her previous form, her curves are pretty maintained despite having just been fed.

"Are you okay?" he asks to be sure.

Viviane hums. "Maybe not completely. Mommy may need to indulge in a little more of something to stabilize."

That "something" is evident as she draws near to Daniel's lips, but before such tastes can begin anew, their lips are blocked by an intruding dark hand between them.

"Love, you seem to be forgetting something," Mary flatly reminds, then narrows her eyes while smiling stiffly towards the new slime mother. "I'd like to hear more of that honesty now, especially about anything you thought of me and my family tied to any sort of wizard."

"Ah...is that not the case?"

Viviane's surprise catches everyone off guard. Seeing this, the former silver slime furrows her brows as she checks her shared knowledge. "Actually, nothing from Anne has been shared with me since disappearing. Annoyingly, even my need for energy was separate from her, as you saw."

'That does make some sense, so she's completely independent of mom now?' Daniel wonders.

Is there even any meaning to sharing the same type of slime?

"Well, that's annoying," Mary mutters before sighing.

Viviane lowers her head. "Forgive me, Mary. When I was searching the memories in your lake, I assumed because those symbols he studied were ones associated with the wizard."

"Well, even if you got my hopes up, I can understand why you thought that. Still, it turns out he was studying a magical book that's related to an Egyptian god, Isis. How could that be related to a wizard from British lore?"

"What about the antique store owner who sold the book?" Daniel asks.

"I mean, it's possible there's a relation there, but my uncle wasn't able to get any leads on the antique store or owner after its disappearance."

Since they've already learned of a book, it's clear to Viviane that she can't keep what she found in Mary's memories to herself anymore.

"Mary, I'm aware you opened that book when you were little. Are you sure you don't remember what you saw?"

Mary widens her eyes at the lake dweller's implications before growling. "I don't! Seriously, though, how could you keep such an important detail to yourself? While my uncle did say I froze, I hardly remember anything notable then."

"You might not remember, but from your memories, the contents of the page you read is clear to me."

"How does that make sense?"

"Because...what you read wasn't meant for you, but me."

As silence overwhelms the group, waiting for the slime girl to elaborate, Viviane recalls what the young Mary had "read". It was a moment of magic that literally spilled out of the female artist's lake, seemingly programmed for her eyes to see in the future.

Although the characters that aligned were foreign to her, a voice reverberated in her mind, perfectly matching the one who called to her in the first vision:

My dear friend, Viviane...or might there be another who can read these words? Even now, I doubt my magic.I hope you can forgive me for what I've done.It must've been hard.It was hard on me.As I predict from these damned visions that never let me sleep, your seal will come undone one day by the ignorance of others.When that time comes, you will love others as you have loved me.You will consume others as you have consumed me.I can't stop it.Despite knowing the future, I still can't stop you.Because, as always, I want to believe in you.What I then shall raise is: Who shall you be?Who shall you protect and love this time?How far will you go?I can only hope it becomes a good future for you and all, my lady, who lost so much.Your friend, Merlin.