A Cute Monster

She seemed just as surprised as we were that time when her mouth pulled shut. She seemed more confused than anything else really, but by the time it returned to normal, she had accepted it. She wasn't bothered in the slightest that her speech was being impeded. She was just like us; we had gotten used to it as well as the years went on. In fact, we never said anything that would trigger our curses. As ours weren't as posh as hers was, it hurt, a lot when it activated to ensure our silence. The thing I couldn't understand was why she'd call it a seal of 'allegiance', something so brutish and unbecoming. It was not a good experience, well, that was for us at least, she wasn't in any pain as far as I could see. In fact, it looked quite pleasant, it was just a gentle reminder to stop talking. As for us, it was a hand strangling us to ensure we said noting, polar opposite experiences.

"Stella...?" He was bothered by her indifference, as was I.

"What now...?" She was annoyed.