First of all, HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY TO WATTPAD!!!
Second of all, CHRISTMAS IS COMING, PEOPLE. And I want to know what everyone wants for Christmas! (If you celebrate other holidays and receive/recieved gifts or are just wishing for something special, let me know that too! I want to knowwww.)
NOWÂ DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE LOTS OF FEEDBACK AND SPREAD THIS STORY EVERYWHERE
P.s- this song + Fade = yes yes yes.... MY THOUGHTS YOU CAN'T DECODE!!!!!
<3 <3 <3
I didn't dream.
I didn't cross the bridge.
Every other night I'd slept in the Unknown had been consistent to uncovering something deeper in Death's conscious, just like the Three Crawlers had told me. I had even started to encounter glimpses of Death's corpse. As terrifying as those interactions were, they seemed to somehow get me closer to finding him.
Something had changed. I feared it had, anyway. I'd counted on the bridge drawn in my dreams to get me to Death faster, now I didn't know if it would happen again.
Whatever had happenedââif anything had even happened, it left me with an uneasy feeling that this realm wasn't as predictable as I thought it was. Maybe Charon or the Forsaken were affecting Death's stream of memory. Maybe I'd done something to disturb Death's conscious, and any wrong decision I made from now on would further disrupt this memory.
Now that was a scary thought. I'd been so careful after Death's first memory turned to ash against my fingertips. Seeing him vanish like that had felt like my heart was ripped out all over again, and I'd come too far now to ruin everything. I couldn't imagine I'd done anything the night before to disturb the memory. I'd worn the Tarhelm, I'd sprayed the scent hiding potion on myself...
Maybe I was just overthinking it. Maybe it was just a coincidence
When I woke up, Brook, my helper with the scar on her face, arrived promptly at my room and drew me another warm, scented bath. The dress laid out for me when I came out of the bathroom was a gorgeous emerald green with a lavishly layered skirt. Another slimming corset that pushed my breasts up to my face and made me painfully aware of every breath I took.
I felt sick to my stomach all the way down to the banquet room. Leo had arrived to escort me to breakfast.
I seemed to draw attention from every single person as I entered the room, and suddenly I realized that the people on the rumor from Death's court. The creatures demonic looking people the head been in the throne room when I first saw Prince of Darkness. I felt so out of place and awkward. If weren't for Leo's gently squeeze on my arm, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to walk over to the table toward a seat.
A head turned around as I approach the table, and I brightened up a bit at the sight of Romeo grinning at me from ear to ear. He was all cleaned up and sober in the eyes. He wasn't dressed as extravagant as the other males at the table, the color scheme of his clothes more neutral with white and browns.
Romeo stood up and pulled out my chair for me. "Well, well, if it isn't my humorous savior," he said, as sitting down in the chair beside me once I was settled. "My morning has instantly brightened up. You look delightful in green."
"Thank you," I said, my cheeks feeling a little bit warm from his complement. "I heard you have a room now in a castle?"
"Fanciest one I've ever been. And I owe it all to you." Romeo looked around us at the table, is it to make sure nobody was listening. And nobody was, the court members were all talking amongst each other. "I have to say, though, I sort of miss my unstable chaps down in the dungeons. The more rational creatures up here are a bunch of boring, arrogant snobs."
"What about your lady friend, Cordelia?"
Romeo gave a shrugged. "Last I heard, she's been busying herself with another male."
"Is he a part of the court?"
"He's right over there," Romeo said with distain, nodding to somewhere down the table. "Refusing to talk to anybody and wearing that brooding scowl."
I looked over to where he was motioning to, finding none other than Blade, the future Deadly Sin of Wrath. He wore a red and black Victorian get up. His dark hair was shaved close to his skull. He sat in a slouched position, the epitome of annoyed, as a chatty girl beside him with blonde hair stacked high on her head appear to be aggressively trying to get his attention, waving her paper fan about like a coked-up butterfly's wings.
"Careful, he's got a glare that could melt the skin off your face," Romeo muttered bitterly. "Smart bastard, he'll get all the females in this castle with that piss poor attitude. Apparently, he's a fire juggler. Fantastic hand-eye coordination, no doubt. Most days I can hardly walk a straight line. Cordelia clearly chose the more capable man. Damn her, and her fantastic mating sense and bounteous breasts..."
"Now wait a minute," I said, "where is that unflinching romantic confidence?"
"Gone with the woes of heartbreak," Romeo said melodramatically. "Cordelia liked me better when I was a rebellious prison dweller."
"Did she tell you that?"
"No, but women always prefer a moody fiend over a kinder chap."
"But women also like when men are unavailable. You're not just a jester, you're a handsome womanizer. Nobody can tie you down, not even Cordelia. That's exactly what attracted her to you in the first place."
Romeo nodded, visibly getting hyped up listening to my words. "You're right, she was attracted to my unavailability." He chuckled to himself. "Well, that, and my thickââ"
"Anywayââ"
"Hair," Romeo finished, running his fingers through his brown hair. "Mighty, mighty gifted with my mane, me is..."
"The point is, you're just as toxic as he is."
"Toxic? What do you mean, toxic?"
"An inaccessible heartbreaker incapable of being anchored down. And very manipulative, too. You still have that in you, Petruchio. I just know it."
"Really? You think I'm manipulative and incapable of commitment?"
I laid my hand on his shoulder. "Absolutely."
He looked like he might cry, he was so flattered.
My eyes drew across the table, as Kalace sat down directly in front of me at one the only open spaces at the table. his stark white hair was pulled back at his nape, and he wore a subtle casual Victorian outfit of neutral colors like Romeo, with no hints of violet or anywhere on his clothing. The lack of his usual purple themed flair in his attire seemed to reflect his low-spirited mood. Kalace seemed buried in his own thoughts and hadn't even looked up at me or anyone else at the table.
"Good morning," I said, loud enough that he would have to acknowledge me.
Kalace briefly looked up at me but didn't smile. Somebody was grumpy. "Good morning."
"Did you sleep well?"
He ran his hand over his face. "No, actually, I didn't. Not at all."
"Same," I said.
"You must be the warlock," Romeo chimed in with his normal outgoing nature. "Here I was moments ago bragging bout my own locks. That is one healthy head of hair, my friend."
Kalace vaguely looked in Petruchio's direction but still didn't seem interested in conversation. "How did you know I was a warlock? We've never met."
"I've got strange sense for emotion, but it's always a bit different around a warlock," Romeo explained with nonchalance, and around a mouthful of breakfast ham.
Now Kalace was a little bit more intrigued, his head lifting to give Romeo his full attention. "What do you mean by you sense emotion?"
"I have good sense of how people are feeling and what they want," Romeo said, explaining it to both Kalace and me . "Gets to be a little overwhelming sometimes, especially when I oddly start to feel their emotion too." He laughed a little bit and seemed to be looking for one of us to relate. "Anyway, don't need to worry about that around a warlock. Sensing anything from the likes of you is like throwing a ball at an obscured wall and watching it bounce back."
Kalace frowned a little bit. "And you've...always been this way?"
"You mean before being dragged down to hell by the Devil's dogs?" Petruchio laughed again, even more uneasily. "Well yes, I've always been like this. Get it from me mum. She worked at a brothel but never had to sleep with a man to seduce all the coin out his pocket. She had the gift too, ya' know?"
"Did your mother's eyes ever appear pink?"
"Well, yes, actually. When she felt strong emotion. How did you know?"
Feeling like I was getting buried in the memory and in the backdrop, I felt the need to insert myself back into the conversation. "How did last night go?" I asked Kalace. "With...His Highness."
"Not very well." Kalace placed a napkin onto his lap and scooped two pastries onto his plate from the assortment in front of us. "Unfortunately, I'll be leaving this evening."
"But you're his friend," I said. "You can't leave him now, not when he needs you the most."
Romeo looked back and forth between Kalace and I. He seemed to lose interest in the conversation as he turned to ask the woman beside him if she would like to hear a joke.
"Just because you have history with someone doesn't mean they're deserving of your help," Kalace said, now that it was just the two of us speaking.
"Kalace, you're the only one who can help himââ"
"How do you know that?" Kalace snapped, losing his temper in a way that I rarely witnessed from him. "I have to be honest with you, you're involvement in his situation is very confusing. I don't understand why you are defending himââ"
"Because I know him," I blurted. "I'm his...his... lover. But it's more than just...you know. We have...feelings...for each other."
Kalace's eyebrow rose.
Romeo turned his attention away from the woman he was talking to, taken aback. "Excuse me, did you just say his lover and feelings in the same sentence? Already?"
"Shhh," I told Romeo. "Keep it down."
"And to think I thought you were all innocence," Romeo said, nudging my side. "Did you give a big, scared tremble and act like he was the vilest monster in all of Hell like I told you to?"
"Death would have torn out your throat if not for me interrupting," Kalace said. "And you expect me to believe the in love two of you are...?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I just said feelings," I clarified. "Let's not spread rumors..."
"Those long pauses you took implied love, dear," Kalace said.
Romeo nodded. "The long pauses did imply a deeper affection."
I raised my hands, feeling like this was spiraling out of control. "I think you two are misunderstanding me. Kalace, I was just trying to explain to you why I feel like I know Death..."
"But you've only been here for two days?" Romeo questioned.
"Two days!" Kalace laughed to himself. "My dear, you appear to have a lovely personality and you are beautiful, but I can assure you, Death is not in love with you."
"It is a little bit of a reach," Romeo agreed. "I've never seen a creature more capable of emotional detachment and inflicting pain onto others without remorse other than His Highness. It's really quite impressive."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I don't even know how we got here. Again, I wasn't implying love. I was implying a strong...liking."
"He had his claws in your corset," Kalace argued.
Romeo turned his head and smirked at me. "Did he now? The scandal..."
"He said he wanted to eat the flesh of my bones," I explained casually.
Romeo pursed his lips. "Interesting, this could be a sign of attraction. Though, to be fair, he does feel that way about all everybody..."
"How is this at all about liking her?" Kalace finished, now exasperated. "He would have killed the poor woman without a second thought!"
"Technically, he did already try to kill her," Romeo said. "In front of the whole court, actually. Took his glove off and touched her. But he let her live..."
Romeo started to explain the whole courtroom joke situation to Kalace, but I tuned out the rehash as I felt a cold chill shimmy down my spine.
I turned my head down the end of the table to my left, to find Death sitting where he hadn't been before. He wore his crown of bones and an expected ensemble of all black, including a high-collared black royal cape over his broad shoulders.
A strange sensation tickled my palm. When I opened my hand in my lap, swirls of black danced across my skin, spelling out the words: Emerald suits you.
A pen appeared out of mist on my emerald skirt and the message on my palm cleared. Looking up at Death, I found him conversing to Leo, who was standing to his left. Leo nodded at whatever he said and walked with determined strides from the room.
Another tingle on my palm. Walk with me after breakfast.
This time, when I picked up my head, Death's mismatched eyes were directly on mine, confirming the note was from him. I picked up the pen that manifested on my lap, the ink-like smoke spilling across my palm again as I wrote: I won't be alone with you again.
I watched Death look down at his lap, the dark slashes of his brows crinkling in. He paused for a long moment, deep in thought. I could tell he was writing on his left hand too, since his one black glove was on the table in front of him.
We're bound to be alone together at some point, he wrote.
Doubt it, I wrote back.
I could see the annoyance etch itself into his face. He looked down the table with narrowed eyes.
I could always make you meet with me.
My cheeks felt hot with rage
Picking up the pen, I started to write on my palm, the angry ink spilling across my hand in ink trails that reminded me of his shadows. Your messages are shallow and disturbingly lack any empathy at all. You tried to kill me yesterday.
Death's next note took a few more moments, and I was surprised nobody had noticed what either of us were doing as my entire palm filled with his beautiful handwriting.
I already knew you were expecting an apology. I'd just rather show my regret through my actions.
The ink vanished from my hand as more reappeared.
I wager a kiss from me in the right place would take us back to the beginning again.
When I glanced down the table, Death's head was tilted up so that he was looking up at me from somewhat under his lashes. I was certain that naughty expression had worked on plenty of other ladies.
When Hell freezes over, Your Highness.
Death sat back in his chair, his catlike eyes gleaming wickedly, before his expression soured a little. I imagined he didn't take the rejection well, as he slipped his black glove back on and made a point not to look at me the rest of the breakfast.
***
After breakfast, Kalace made his retreat without talking to anyone else, and Leo was nowhere in sight to escort me back to my room. I watched everyone leave the dining room having no idea where to go, that is, until Romeo looped his arm through mine.
"Allow me to familiarize you with this wicked, wicked castle, m'lady," he said with a grin as he guided me from the room. But we didn't get very far, as Romeo's former lover, Cordelia, was standing just outside.
"Cordelia," Romeo said, his expression shocked, and his eyes locked on her ample bust. "You lookââ"
"What the hell is this?" Cordelia demanded, nodding at me. "We part ways for one day and you have the Prince's whore on your arm?"
"Pardon me, Corn-delia," I said, raising a finger at her. "First of all, I am nobody's whore. Second, Petruchio has something to say to you."
Romeo's eyes widened. "Me? Me has something to say?"
"Yes, you do." I gave a firm indicative nod toward Cordelia with an implied, tell her off, dude.
"Right. Right, um...Cordelia..." Petruchio began hesitatingly.
Cordelia crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her heel on the ground impatiently. Petruchio was momentarily distracted by the way her breasts perked out with the pose, but lifted his gaze with determination.
"Cordelia, I must thank you for your cruelty last night," Romeo said at last, his voice surprisingly sturdy and confdient. "I thought I was getting rather soft for you, and that's not a feeling I thrives in the most, if you catch me drift."
"What do you mean you thought?" Cordelia asked. "Don't you still think this way? We are together, are we not?"
I frowned, and so did Romeo.
"Um, no, actually," Romeo said, drawing the words out slowly. "We are the furthest from together, my dear. In fact, I would consider you an acquaintance."
"Oh shit," I muttered, smothering a laugh into a cough.
Cordelia gasped. "How dare you insult me as such! I am not your acquaintance. This pass-around royal whore is your acquaintance!"
"Cordelia," Romeo said with a sigh, "I ask you kindly not to talk that way to myââ"
"Jellybean," I interjected, recalling Romeo's nickname for Cordelia. "I'm his jellybean."
Cardelia didn't seem as affected as I wanted her to be.
Romeo leaned into my ear. "Jam tart."
"Jam tart," I corrected with a raised brow. "I meant to say jam tart. I'm his jam tart. That's right. His Jammy...tarty."
Romeo gave my hand a pat on his arm, subtly indicating I shut up.
Cordelia stood straighter, and I could see the panic in her expression as it clicked she had lost Romeo forever. "Petruchio, you know you are the only one for me."
"How strange, that's not what you told me last night. In fact, you practically bragged about the fire juggler."
"Oh, he was just a fling," Cordelia said, flushing a little. "You know I get, my dear. I get bored so easily..."
"Apparently, so does he," Romeo concluded. "I seems he's rejected you."
"Well...yes, in a way, he did. But that means nothing," she said, running his hand down Romeo's chest.
Romeo peeled her hands off of him. "Cordelia, you ended our charade, and I have moved on. There is nothing else to say."
I saw the panic in Cordelia's eyes and felt so proud of Romeo. "But Petruchio, remember all of those heated nights we had!" Cordelia cried. "We have history. We have love. A connection nobody will ever understand but us..."
While Cordelia went off in more theatrics, I felt a cold sensation slip down the back of my nape. When I looked down the hallway, I could see Death looming around a shadowy pillar, watching me. Slowly, I removed my arm from Petruchio, so as not to get him in any further trouble.
"We had many things," Romeo continued to Cordelia. "But then you threw me aside, and now I know it was all a lie. It's over. Move on."
Cordelia's lip wobbled a little, but she refused to cry. She lifted her head with a "Hmph!" and stormed off.
"What a spoiled brat," I whispered to Romeo as we began walking again.
"Indeed, I realize now We never really did exchange many words. See, she has the most fantastic mouth and rarely ever left myââ"
Death stepped into our path, looming over us both like a towering nightmare.
"Your Highness," Romeo said. "You look positivelyâI mean negativelyââ"
Death growled at the back of his throat, and Romeo immediately shut up.
Romeo's skin had washed out it looked like he might pass out. Slowly, he slid his arm from out of my grasp. "Right, well I'm glad your dizzy spell has passed, for that is why I offered a solid arm..." He gave me a wide-eyed look to play along.
I caught on and nodded. "Yes, thank you. I feel so much better now. From my dizzy spell."
We both side-eyed Death, who didn't look the least bit amused.
"I should get going now," Romeo rushed out. "Farewell." He awkwardly power-walked away so fast any determined soccer-mom with weights would have been impressed.
Death watched Romeo retreat with a flat expression, but I could see how his eyes gleamed with dark amusement as they briefly lowered to mine. He turned promptly on his heel and walked away, his cape snapping with the movement.
I had no other choice but to walk after him. "What the hell was that?"
"I'm unsure what you mean."
"You growled at him. Like a rabid animal."
"And?"
I had to laugh a little. "Why?"
"Because he made you laugh." I was surprised he'd answered so honestly.
"Petruchio is a jester. That's kind of what they do."
"A consistently funny jester is more impressive to me," Death said, as I noticed how his boots strangely, silently touched the floor with each step. I also noticed much larger his boots were than my little slipper-like shoes. "During his last show, the poor silly drunk couldn't seem to accomplish the most important task, making me laugh."
"You're being ridiculous with this clearing your throat thing."
"It keeps my court on their toes. So, what's this about you being my fifteenth favorite jester's jelly jam?"
"Jelly tart," I corrected him.
"What an asinine nickname."
"It's a form of endearment."
Death grabbed my arm, this time pulling me to the side of the hallway. "To me it implies you are sweet to him."
"I am sweet."
"Oh, I don't doubt that." His voice had deepened a little when he said it, and his eyes, brimming with sin, raked over my figure. "But does he know you're sweet?"
The implications of his words made a slow burn shimmy through my body. "I sure hope you aren't asking me what I think you're asking me."
His eyes seemed to darken a little in the same unhinged way it had at dinner the night before, his grip biting into my arm possessively, but not enough to inflict pain. "It's a yes or no answer, Faith."
"You're hurting me, Death."
His eyes swept down my neck, down my arm, where his hand gripped my bicep. He lessened his grip and softly massaged my arm with his gloved fingers. "I'm more insulted than I am jealous," Death explained, but he seemed to be convincing himself more than anything.
"Right."
"I asked to walk with you first," he continued, as if his argument had any foundation.
"Which I rejected."
He scoffed and stepped back from me, but his hand was still on my arm, sliding down to my wrist. "Nobody rejects me. At least not whole-heartedly."
I let my arm drop to my side before his glove touched my hand. "I reject you," I told him, walking backwards ahead of him down the hallway. I knew this was a dangerous game, but I felt like I had to play it to see this memory through. "I reject you again, too. That's twice in a row."
He watched me trail backwards, standing still and regal at the center of the hallway. "Three times and your jester might magically become a skull over my throne," Death purred.
"He's not my anything. I only pretended he was to get back at his cruel lover."
"How vicious," Death commented, and then his expression became morbidly entertained. "Not that this information makes any difference at all. In fact, Petruchio's fate was already decided by me months ago."
"What do you mean?"
"Now why would I tell you that? I'd rather you see it for yourself..." Death slinked slowly toward me, one foot after the other like a cat, his mouth curved a little on one side. "I must say, I am hounded by the sin of Envy almost every waking day, and today you wear its color with such pure integrity that suddenly what I feel tastes more like temptation."
My heart raced underneath his gaze, how it never left mine with every word past his lips.
"You look afraid." He raked his gaze over me as he inhaled, his head cocking a little to the side. "Maybe you should be. Fear my desire more than any choking wrath, angel. Lust can be the most dangerous of the deadly sins, after all."
Death laughed in a low, taunting way, his strides lengthening as he maneuvered ahead of me, and spinning me around in the process, so that now he was the one walking backwards, and I was now forced to strut after him, like some sort of seductive dance.
"Blaming your change of intentions on your sins seems like a lie," I said, not letting this go. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this change in tune is because you want something from me."
He grinned, his fangs flashing. "You really don't remember, do you?"
There was a sinking feeling in my stomach. "What are you talking about?"
The gleam in his wicked eyes were the only indication he was amused. He said nothing for a long moment, and it was a frightening withheld silence. He took another dangerous step toward me, close enough that I could see the different colors in his irises. I found myself holding my breath a little at how large and powerful he looked up close. I couldn't tell if it was from fear or attraction, or a lot of both as he reached out and lightly traced the curve of my cheek with his gloved thumb, an unexpected gesture that instantly derailed all my thoughts.
Death appeared to get the exact reaction he'd wanted out of me, as he whirled around on his heel. "Onward, it's quite low-class for a prince to be conversing intimately in a hallway with a peasant. I have a reputation to uphold."
I released the breath I'd been holding, once again floored by nerve of him. "I don't even know why I've followed you this far."
Death stopped a stone archway in entering a room ahead, a sly look narrowing his mismatched green eyes. "Because I'm as evil as I am handsome, cynical as I am funny, and dangerous as I am well-educated?"
When I didn't know what to say to that, a small, wicked grin lifted the corners of his mouth. "Hurry now, you move horrifically slow, and I have an apology to act upon..." He blended back into the shadows on the doorway behind him and vanished into the darkness.
Shaking my head at myself for being in this messy situation, I looked back at the empty hallway behind me, and then back at the dark doorway and the man somewhere behind it, who beckoned me closer.
I recalled his ominous words about forgetting, and how even though my gut didn't trust this version of Death at all, my heart had a mind of its own, and it was too curious for its own good. I stepped into the entryway and continued to follow this mysterious chapter of his story.
<3 <3 <3
DID YOU LIKE LITTLE HEARTS I DID THERE. GIMMIE A BIG OL' BLACK HEART EMOJI IF SNEAKY PAST DEATH HAS YOUR HEART RN.
SCREAM CUPCAKE IF YOU WANT MORE!!! MWAHAHA. ;)
Don't forget to join the Death is My BFF Facebook group! I'm trying to be more active in there, and it's so much fun to have one place where you guys can all fangirl!!! Link is on my profile or just Google Death is My BFF Facebook group! x)