Mmmnhggggg. I groan as I lie down in my bed, ears lowering against my head and twitching softly as I land face-down on my sheets and pillow. The ringing of that thrice-damned bell still echoes in my ears, even though no one's ringing it anymore and I'm in an entirely quiet room. The hallucinated sound makes me want to claw my own ears off, but then I wouldn't be able to do my job, and the cookies would get upset and no one would need me anymore. So I don't.

Instead, I curl onto my side and pull a pillow over my head. Despite the pillow, I can still hear the ringing clearly. My breathing quickens and heart begins beating heavily against my chest. Tears prick at my closed eyes as I clutch the pillow tighter. I know the noise isn't real - if it were, the pillow would muffle it, but it sounds just as clear as before.

Unable to silence the ringing my mind has conjured, I curl further into myself. My body shakes as I hyperventilate, tears now flowing down my cheeks. If my companion were here, I'd feel calmer. She always tries to keep me calm and help me feel better. But she left to chase cookies who kept trying to force their way into the palace after hours and hasn't returned yet.

I have to handle this alone. It's fine. Everything's fine. I'm a Virtue. I'm the Virtue of Volition. I can handle the horribly grating, physically painful ringing and the hundreds of cookies who were pulling at my clothing and arms earlier. Their bright, patterned clothing caught the light and shone way too brightly for my eyes.

I can handle it. I'm fine. Everything is fine. I'm not having a panic attack all alone in my bedroom like a pathetic cookie with no value, worth, or purpose. I'm entirely fine.