In one short day, twelve-year-old Annabell "Chloe" Chime went from being Queen of the Mainland Isle to the newest inmate of Dedlam Asylum. To be fair, it wasn't her fault. When she was small, her parents were massacred by Fienmond, the King of the Demon Pirates and he had stuck a cursed Demon Eye inside her head. This allowed a demon singer by the name of Rosemary to inhabit her body and override her own thoughts at will.

Chloe paced back and forth in her overtly frilly room--everything from the bed to the table covers to even the rug itself resembled a giant pink doily. Aside from a plethora of books she had pilfered from the castle library on the golden age of piracy and swashbuckling heroes, along with an older photo of her and parents, this room was fit for a much daintier princess than she ever was. But at this moment, that mattered not to Chloe, for she dreaded two things: Rosemary taking hold of her mind again and the arrival of her consorts to take her away.

Unfortunately, the latter appeared with a swift knock.

Chloe answered the door, and found the minister of her kingdom, Dingsworth waiting outside. Old, stringy, with wispy white hair on his head, face and eyebrows, he was enforced by two guards dressed in the kingdom's customary colors of pink and white. "M'lady," the elderly Dingsworth said with bow. "Will you come quietly with us up to Dedlam? You and I both know it’s for your own good."

"Dingsworth," Chloe said, a scowl on her face and a glare in her non covered eye. "I'd scream the whole way there if I had the choice, but there's no point. If only I didn't have such a tiny body, I'd beat all three of you to a pulp."

A wide smile spread on Dingsworth's wrinkly face. "I'm happy you've dropped the dainty charade, Queen Annabell. The sooner you come to terms with yourself, the better you'll feel. We're only doing this to help you."

"I'd rather you help yourself and get a new toupee," Chloe said, "But whatever. You adults are gonna do what you're gonna do."

"Cuff her," the minister growled, and much to their surprise, Chloe willingly stuck out her arms.

"Good girl," the minister said, "You won't regret it. We will solve the problem of your accursed demon eye."

Chloe was defiantly silent, but behind her glare, she was trembling inside.

The afternoon was dark, and rain poured heavily on the market square. Candle lights in the windows of the Mainland Village reflected golden in the puddles outside. They were the only source of light or warmth as the two guards lead the queen through the square. Chloe wished that some of the townsfolk would be aghast by the treatment of their queen, but only beggars hobbled through the streets. Before the young queen knew it, she was outside the town and heading along a dirt road to her new, sordid destination.

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The Dedlam Research Facility and Asylum for Dark Aliments of the Everworld, was self-explanatory for the young girl—it was a place where they researched and experimented on those who were afflicted by demonic otherworld, but that did not stop the towering building from looking so shadowy and imposing. A steel skyscraper towering at the edge of the isle's cliff, it was jagged like the edges of batwings turned upwards towards the sky. Even when in the throes of Rosemary's control, Chloe never expected this wretched location to be her new home. The minister had only grown crueler and more uncaring as time wore on, but she never expected him to stoop to this level.

The wet boots of the guards screeched in the lobby as Chloe was met by a very unconcerned looking nurse. Her hair was bright red and curled perfectly over a stern young face. "Queen Annabell has arrived," the guard said and the nurse smirked.

"Good, Doctor Needles is awaiting her on the sixty-sixth floor."

"Doctor Needles?!" Chloe gasped. "Don't you have a Doctor Cuddles in there instead?!"

The severe nurse looked nonplussed. "Take her right up there and be careful. The minister informed me that she's a trickster."

The guards nodded and Chloe shook her head sadly. Even if she could get up to her old tricks, her hands were cuffed and she'd have no way of escaping several armed guards.

The guards took metallic lift up to the sixty-sixth floor and when the lift slid open, she was greeted by a beady eyed, greasy scalped man in a lab coat. When he saw Chloe, he spread his teeth in a needle toothed grin. At least the name is right, Chloe observed as she shivered.

"Welcome Chloe," Doctor Needles said, "And before you ask, this won't hurt a bit."

"What won't hurt a bit?!" Chloe asked.

"Our discussion before we remove that eye of yours. The operation, on the other hand, might hurt a lot!"

Chloe wobbled backwards, feeling light headed. The guards lead Chloe to a barred room of grey, fluffy pads. Chloe's cuffs were removed, and the door was locked behind her. "I'm gonna get working on that Pluckity Pluck machine!" Doctor Needles said, his beady eyes peering through the bars.

"What is that?!" Chloe said, squirming uncomfortably.

"We put it over your eye and then Pluckity Pluck!"

Chloe winced and cried over the thought of the pain. She covered her eye-patch up with her hands.

"But don't worry," Doctor Needles said, reassuringly.

Chloe timidly looked up at him, hoping for some good news.

"If you're a good girl, you'll get a lolly! Strawberry or lemon?!"

The doctor walked off cackling, leaving Chloe whimpering and in tears. She walked over to the edge of the white room, and sat down on the rough, itchy fabric. To make matters even worse, a low, husky and demonic voice whispered in her eye. "Chiiiiild," Rosemary's low sultry tone echoed through her mind. "This demon eye is special. It's tethered to your life force. If they remove it, both of us dieeeee."

Chloe laid flat out on her stomach, crying as hard as she could. There was truly no way out.