Grain... Cloister of Science...

Alice huffed. “It's the queen. We need to find out why she is here!”

Johanna shook her head. “She still never said why she was here in the Cloister of Science.”

Amaretto looked at Johanna and then shook her aunt by the shoulder. “See? She's starting to show emotion!”

The queen shook her head and then started to chuckle. “If all you wanted to know was why we were here, then we shall tell you. I was here to see Mother Chime and get what she promised to me.”

Amaretto looked a little confused. “Wait, she came here at the insistence of Mother Chime?”

Both Alice and Johanna looked to the woman who was obviously attached to the floor. The queen moved forwards and Amaretto could finally see the hoses and attachments that were there. The queen smiled and then said, “This is the reason that I came here.”

Alice looked at the woman on the bed. “Then who is that?”

The queen smiled. “That was the old me.”

Johanna narrowed her eyes and Katherine stopped looking through her purse. Amaretto took a step forwards towards the bed and then turned around shaking her head. “The old you? What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Alice suddenly took a sharp intake of breath. “Dear angels in heaven,” she exclaimed. “The queen has been sick for the past three years. It was thought to be an incurable disease. That was when Mother Chime came and the changes started taking place. The reason for all of this has been the culmination of this?” Alice motioned to what appeared to be the queens new body.

The queen smiled and then put her hands on her hips. She quickly turned a couple of times, showing off her new body. “Mother Chime came with her scientists and with a plan as well.”

Amaretto narrowed her eyes. “This plan was to give you another body?”

A melodic voice answered her question at that moment. “Why yes it was. I never thought it would happen this quickly though.”

Everyone in the room quickly turned around and looked to see who it was that was speaking. A woman sashayed into the room. She was dressed in a long flowing blue gown of muslin and seemed to cling to her frame. Her eyes were a very dark shade of gray that seemed to encompass the whole of her socket. Her skin was a pale shade of off-white, that had a bluish tint to it as well. Her lips had been curved into a rather disarming smile and cunning eyes.

Katherine smiled slightly and then curtsied. “Mother Chime I take it then?”

The woman nodded her head. “Indeed you would have it correct then madam.”

Katherine's smile got larger and then her silver chain was out once more and her eyes were a little wild when she screamed again, “The power of Mazda compels you!”

Mother Chime raised an eyebrow. “Using Babylonian spells will not make me go away.”

Katherine huffed and then threw the Mazda medallion back into her purse. “You can't say I didn't try.”

Amaretto huffed. “Using a car to try to exorcise something is not going to happen.”

Katherine shrugged. “I tried. I have no idea now.”

Alice had wide eyes as she stared at Mother Chime. “You are the infamous Mother Chime?”

The woman made a slight bow. “That is indeed what it is. It is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of famous spiritualists Alice Crowly and Johanna Dee.”

Johanna stiffened at the usage of her name. Alice simply stood there with her mouth hanging open. She then composed herself and spoke. “You know of us?”

“Why yes. I make it a point to know of those who stand against me, even if I have done nothing to gain your ire.” Mother Chime continued to smile and Amaretto wanted to slap the smile off of the woman. There was something about her that made her skin crawl.

Johanna suddenly sputtered and her face seemed to contort with emotion and then her deadpan voice seemed to gain an octave. “Gained our ire? You burned our house down! You stole from us!”

Amaretto tugged at her aunt's arm and whispered to her excitedly. “See? I told you! That means that the Stone of Communication has to be near by. It’s the only way that her emotion could be showing though at this time.”

Katherine narrowed her eyes and made a slight motion around the room with her hand. “And where do you think that it would be hidden? There seems to be no place for them to keep it.”

Amaretto scanned the room that they were in and then looked to where the queen was standing. She slowly made as if to look and saw that the floor had a small hole where the wires and the hoses that were attached to the queen seemed to sink under the floor. As she continued to look around, she looked and saw that the wires seemed to go towards the bed that was on the other side of the room. Amaretto stared at the wires for a moment and then turned back to look at the queen.

Amaretto spoke in a soft voice, “What perchance are the wires and hoses for?”

At this, the the queen seemed to be rather pleased and then said, “This is actually a partial gift to me. It was thanks to Mother Chime herself.”

Amaretto frowned. “Don't you mean Grandmother Chime?”

Mother Chime smiled and then said, “That was the late Mistress of Sciences. I am the second to have that name.”

Amaretto nodded and then said, “I do not think that you have the same accent as the others.”

Mother Chime made her slight smile once more and then said, “You would be correct in that. I am not necessarily from the Empire, but that does not mean that I cannot be a citizen of it.”

Katherine smirked and said, “We never said you couldn't be a part of it, merely that you were not to begin with.” As she said that, Mother Chime's eyes seemed to darken for a moment and then lightened once more.

“There is nothing that cannot gainsay your logic, but I think that if anyone can say weather or not I am beholden to the empire, I think that the queen is the one who has that power.” Mother Chime turned and made a motion with her hand towards the queen. Amaretto noticed that around the woman's wrist, a strange silver white bracelet was wrapped twice. From the bracelet, what appeared to be small chains were wrapped around her waist. A closer look revealed them to be small hoses that were attached just like the queen had on her shoulders.

Amaretto elbowed her aunt and pointed them out to her. Katherine's eyes narrowed and she then said, “There is no way that this is all being powered by steam. Something else has to be powering this conversion that is going on.”

Amaretto grinned. “Something like the Stone?”

Katherine nodded. “I think you are right. I think that the Stone is somewhere here.”

At this time, Alice spoke in a concerned tone. “If in fact you are the queen, then what was it that Mother Chime offered to you?”

The queen smiled. “She gave me a new body.” The queen's tone was matter of fact and Amaretto almost choked at what the queen said.

Alice blinked. “She gave you a new body?”

The queen nodded her head. “In exchange for protection, she offered to help cure the sickness that was ailing my body. In order to do so, she and all of her scientists helped to create this new body and have placed my consciousness into this new construct.”

Alice blinked and looked like she was about to pass out. Amaretto felt sorry for her. It was not every day that one was told that body swapping was supposed to happen.