💙🌙 Josephine Barrett: Paranormal Showgirl 🌙💙

*This story is underneath my folder titled “Paranormal Showgirl”. Gacha Club character designs are under my forum titled “My character designs<33[2]”. Enjoy!*

Once upon a time, there was a young ten year old girl named Josephine Barrett, who lived in an alley all by herself. Her parents had left her to fend for herself when she was four years old, for they were frightened of her witch powers and so, that was what she did.

Josephine would eat bread and produce that she stole from nearby markets, she would wear laundry that she stole from other townspeople and she would sleep with stolen blankets.

There was a small part of her that told her it was wrong to steal, that it would be better to ask for someone to take her in than to take from others, but then she reminded herself of the cruel faces people made when they saw her, when they screamed at her to “scram!” and so, with those thoughts, she was content to steal to survive.

But those were not the only things that she stole. Josephine felt an emptiness in her heart and with her magic, she would put her hand on the ground and steal away the happiness of passerby, so that she could feel it for herself, even if it were just for a little bit. When she did this, she noticed that the people she stole happiness from seemed to look a little sad, as if stealing from them brought them misery, but that was alright with her. Unlike the other things Josephine was stealing from them, their happiness would come back.

Hers wouldn’t. She wasn’t sure if it ever would.

Josephine had lived like that for most of her life, taking from others so she could live, not one person taking time out of their day to talk to her, not one kind eye directed at her. Until one day, when she was an old lady, she decided that she no longer wanted to live in an alley and made her way up to the palace, hoping that despite her disheveled appearance, she could impress the King and Queen Albrechts who ruled over the town with her powers and maybe work for them as a servant, because maybe life at the palace would be better.

When she got to the palace, she showed them that she could fix cracks on the broken castle walls, that she could twist the spines of anyone who didn’t listen by twisting the spine of a servant and then putting the bones back together. She showed them many things with her magic and since they were both amazed enough, they took her in.

Josephine finally had a place to call home.

………………………………………………………………………………………

“You’re rather far from the party, aren’t you?” Josephine asked, her hands folded on her skirt. She was sitting on the violet couch in the magic room, the room where she looked at different spells in her spell books, where the walls were painted a deep blue, so deep it was almost purple, porcelain dolls were lined up on shelves and maroon lace curtains flowed in the wind.

The room was beautiful, just like how she would have wanted her own bedroom to look like when she was a child.

At the moment, a green-eyed child was standing at the doorway, her long blond hair flowing around her face. The child was from the birthday party that Josephine told Queen Clara and her son, Prince Cesare, to hold for the Prince’s twenty-sixth birthday, that they had to invite everyone from the village so that Josephine could steal happiness from the happiest people there.

It had been some time since Josephine was hired to work for Queen Clara and King Cathan. After Prince Cesare was born, King Cathan died from a mixture of his own health issues and his overwhelming joy for the birth of his son, and so, both the Queen and the Prince were miserable, executing anybody they saw as “not following the law”.

Prince Cesare was an adult and Queen Clara was much older, but that didn’t mean that Josephine wouldn’t be around to help them. They deserved to feel happiness after King Cathan died. Not the peasants who complained.

“Don’t look so scared. I may be the royal witch, but I’m not going to hurt you. Come in, take a look around! I never get any visitors!” Josephine said with a smile, waving her hands out as though she wanted to embrace Fleur.

Because that was her name. Fleur Bianchi. Josephine had used her magic to look into the child’s mind and saw that Fleur did not have the fear that she should have been feeling. Fleur was just happy to be at the palace and any little bit of nervousness she was feeling upon seeing Josephine was ebbing away as the seconds dragged on.

“I didn’t know the Albrechts had a witch!” Fleur cried out, stepping into the room, an amazed look in her eyes.

“Yes, they hired me, Josephine, to show them magical wonders and to bring them all the happiness that they can imagine.” Josephine said, getting up from the couch so that she could get a little bit closer to the magical knife that was on one of the shelves.

“You bring them happiness? But aren’t they already happy enough?” Fleur asked, as though she couldn’t fathom how people in royalty could be unhappy.

“Anybody can be unhappy, no matter how much they have. Would a happy person force people to come over for a party with a punishment if they don’t come?” Josephine asked.

Fleur was looking at a doll with her blond hair in two pigtails, her back turned from Josephine. Josephine was closer to the magical knife that had a dark purple hilt, encircled by silver lines.

“No.” Fleur said in a small, scared voice.

She didn’t leave, though. Perhaps it made her uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to run.

“Exactly. That’s where I come in. I search for happiness in animals, happiness in plants, happiness in people…I need to find what has the most happiness and then, only then, will I take the source of that happiness to the Albrechts, so that they may smile forevermore.” Josephine grinned.

She grabbed the knife on the shelf, closing her grip around it tightly. Fleur had grabbed the doll off the shelf, seemingly mesmerized by its beauty and that, that was when Josephine raised the knife and stabbed Fleur in the back, Fleur’s body evaporating from the magic, her essence transferred into the doll.

“Don’t worry, right after I stabbed you, your body evaporated. Isn’t that amazing, what happens with a magical knife? Now, don’t be too upset. I’m going to take you to see the royal family! You must be a very happy child, I think. Your energy will certainly make them happy!” Josephine beamed, picking the doll-Fleur-up from the ground.

She could see the sadness in Fleur’s blue eyes, but felt nothing but irritation at the sight of them. Fleur had to realize that it was wrong to trust, sooner or later.

It was her own fault for stepping into the room.

………………………………………………………………………………………

“Here is the soul of a little girl that I trapped in a doll. She wasn’t too poor, so she still had her innocence. She’ll do well to keep you both happy.” Josephine said, showing Fleur to Queen Clara and Prince Cesare.

They were in a hidden hallway of the castle, the stained glass window glittering from the moon’s glow. It was getting late, but maybe Fleur would be enough for them.

“What is this talk about murdering our daughter?!” A man’s voice yelled.

Josephine whipped her head around, wasting not a moment, and raised her hand up in the air, using her magic to break the bones of the man-Andrew-and the woman-Mikayla. They were Fleur’s parents and they had to be stopped.

“If the both of you cared so much about Fleur, then you both must have been very, very happy. Your happiness will help the Albrechts.” Josephine grinned, taking in their energy and throwing it towards the Albrechts.

She then told them to hold onto Fleur and that she would give them her energy and so, with that, Josephine used her magic to give them stolen happiness.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Of course, taking the energy of Fleur wasn’t enough. Fleur’s soul was still around and the souls of her parents didn’t leave, either, so Josephine used the doll as a tracker that would lead to the Bianchi house and then, she told the Albrechts that if they wanted more happiness, then they had to abandon ruling over their town and instead live in the Bianchi house, where Josephine would take the joyful energy that was left over from the previous occupants and give it to them.

It wasn’t an easy choice for them to make, but they had both wanted to genuinely feel good, so they agreed to follow Josephine to the Bianchi house, Josephine giving them the happiness within the walls from then on.

Though the town of which the Albrechts called a Kingdom went on their lives without being ruled, they did not leave, for they wanted joy and joy Josephine gave to them, for many, many years, until Prince Cesare went out to the Bianchi’s library late at night and was killed by the ghosts of Mikayla and Andrew.

Queen Clara’s heart was broken that night, but Josephine trapped the Bianchi parents in the library with her magic, then, she sat next to Queen Clara on the parlor room couch and said:

“I grew up with nothing. Nobody to turn to, not even material objects to hold close, so I stole to feel human. I thought that my whole life would be like this, that I was fine with living like that, but you took me in. You trusted me. You could have turned me away into the streets, given me a dirty look like so many others, but you didn’t. You let me stay. Maybe you took me in for your own convenience, but you still let me in and that has not gone unnoticed. I cannot imagine the pain you feel right now, but don’t give up. Your son would not have wanted you to give up. I will give you happiness until the day we both die and then, all three of us will be more powerful in death. I can promise you that.”

Queen Clara shook her head, tears in her blue eyes and then, she said in a voice cracked with sobs:

“I didn’t take you just to be my servant. You impressed me, but that was only because your magic gave me wonder. Your magic made me less angry that I had to rule over the peasants. You did not come to trick me or to take something from me, like many of my servants might have, but to give. You, Josephine, are the truest friend I’ve ever had and I just know that despite it all, you will find a way to make it right.”

Josephine did not quite know what to say to Queen Clara. Her heart twisted a bit with an overwhelming sense of warmth and…and was she smiling? For real? Was she feeling real happiness?

But of course she was! Queen Clara appreciated her and so, Josephine could never stop stealing away happiness for her! It would not only hurt the Queen, but also herself.

“Thank you.” Josephine said in a voice that was surprisingly soft and breathy, a bit meek compared to how she normally sounded.

“No, thank you. For everything. I don’t go around saying that lightly. I mean it.”

Josephine knew when the Queen was lying or telling the truth and from the certainty in her voice, Josephine knew that the best thing she could ever do was to continue to serve the Queen.

After all, it was Queen Clara who cared about her.