"Wait you're telling me that we are going to one of the other realms?" Willow said in awe looking up from the chapter about wounds in the reaper chronicle, seeing Jack standing in her balcony door. "Which one? not Shadiya right? realm of shadows?" Her voice dropped to a hushed tone as she mentioned the name, having read some rather unsettling things about that particular place.
"Someone has been reading up on their chronicles and no. I wouldn't take your real first trip of Earth to that realm, that's a creepy place even for me and way too dangerous for you if you can't behave." Jack grunted walking into her room as she sat up on the bed crossing her legs. "We are going to Enzaya, realm of magic, thinking after spending almost the whole day with Mia and Caroline and the fact we're still not allowed to really do anything that this would be an easy in and out job. Darlia gave the ok for it too after I promised we would behave." he added, joining Willow on the bed and casually flipping through the book about companions from her stack.
When they had come back from Caroline it had been late. She had spend the last couple of days learning how to block and hanging out with the other pets cause Jack had some jobs he couldn't take her with him. Not to mention reading some of the chronicles to get a better understanding of what kind of world she was now living in.
"When is it?"
"Let's say in about an hour, so was thinking do you want a quick tour through the realm or do you wanna wait till we have to go?" he raised a brow questioningly, but the smirk playing in the corner of his lips showed he already knew the answer.
Narrowing her eyes she looked at him suspiciously, after Caroline had pulled him to the side he was almost... sweet towards her, which freaked Willow out quite a bit. That shifting like the wind was confusing, one minute he was nice and the next he was aloof and snarky.
"It would be pretty epic seeing it, like it's every book nerds dream to visit a place similar to Middle earth," She grinned as he nodded eagerly.
"Oh is pretty epic, but keep close as laws and such isn't exactly the same there as here. Nor is humans the majority or the ones making the laws for most of Enzaya," Her face lit up with excitement as she leaned forward, but his eyes widened briefly, and his smile morphed into a cocky smirk and he crossed his arms "And I am not in the mood to save your ass from an orc or something just because you decided to be stupid."
In response, her expression faltered, and she rolled her eyes, leaning back.
Back to snarky.
"I'm not gonna need to be saved! Especially by you," she mumbled, getting up from bed and looked at him. "I read about Enzaya, you know."
"That doesn't mean you won't act stupid, you know I can get a new pet, you can't get a new life." He got up from the bed as she narrowed her eyes wondering if he was serious. "Just stay close and don't act stupid, that's all I ask. But let me find Jane first, we need to get into some appropriate clothing." he walked towards her door.
"That's all I ask," she mimicked his voice making him turn around with a raised brow.
"So mature Willow, if you behave on this trip, you will get a gold sticker." he said with a fake cheerful voice, making Willow grind her teeth as he walked out the door, stomping over to the dresser with the small mirror, picking up the silver brush. Why wasn't her clothing good enough? Jane had slowly started to fill her closet with items, so sure as hell there would be something appropriate in there though maybe not cultural.
Brushing most of her hair into a bun Jack entered the room followed by Jane who had her arms full of clothing.
"This is all the clothing I could find that may fit you, Miss Willow." she said with a monotone voice laying the clothes on her bed before turning to Jack with a bundle of clothing. "And I picked this from your closet master Jack when I heard of your assignment to the old kingdom Crutopia." She said with a bubbly voice and smile before bowing and leaving the room.
Willow looked after her with a sigh, wondering if there actually was any way to make that girl like her, before going over to the bed to check it out.
"Do you think you can dress yourself or do you need a hand?" He smirked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. " with that lace-up you might need some extra fingers."
"Just get out!" Willow pushed him towards the balcony before pulling a dark green bodice dress with attached skirt from the bundle. It was laced with two fit brass grommets, and was split down the front, she guessed to show the muslin undress beneath. Quickly she got into the attire, but had some trouble with the leather lacing at the front.
"Need a hand?" she turned around seeing Jack in a white v-necked cotton shirt with strings treaded through the collar, the dark baggy trousers fit loosely around the waist before snuggling tightly into a pair of long dark laced booths. He rested his hand on the dark-brown thick leather belt around his waist with a brass buckle and a scabbard at his side.
"...Yes please," She finally breathed unwillingly, he chuckled shortly as he walked over to her and helped her with the lace."Is my hair okay? And what about shoes?" She wondered knowing that clothing could variate from each kingdom, island and parts of Enzaya.
"Your hair is fine, but sneakers won't do," he headed into her closet and towards the shoes section. "Jane should already have gotten you some shoes that should work already." He looked at the long line of shoes Willow probably would never use half off before pulling down a pair of laced low boots. "Just don't talk too much, we are trying to fit in." he mumbled waiting for her to lace them.
"yeah, yeah yeah" she mumbled looking at herself in the mirror, wondering how her life had come to this, though feeling the warmth of excitement coursing through her veins. "Can we see an elf? I read about them in the book called creation of the elven species." She asked, trying to hide her excitement in her voice as she subconsciously took his hand he reached to her.
Looking around she realized he had teleported her to some dark forest and quickly let go of his hand and stepped back.
Before she got a chance to ask where they were, a rustling in the bushes drew her attention. Emerging from the foliage was a graceful, willowy brown-haired girl donning a flowing green dress adorned with a dark belt holding various items and a dagger. As she stepped out, the entire forest seemed to brighten in her presence as if the forest itself wanted to look it's best for her.
Dangling from her shoulders was a sizable basket filled with edible roots and berries. However, what truly captured Willow's focus was the intricate red flower tattoo that adorned the girl's skin. It trailed from her ankles, ascending to weave its way up her legs and neck before to the side of her forehead. The tattoo's design reminded Willow of bougainvillea flowers, vivid and lifelike. Coupled with the girl's pointed ears and the tattoo, Willow deduced that she came from the NyserÃa tribe, residing within the depths of the dark forest near the BlarÃl mountain range, also referred to as the black mountains in the East.
Observing her surroundings with her oval green eyes, which seemed to shine lightly as if the sun danced within them, the woman extended her arm and gave a graceful wave towards the bushes. Emerging from the foliage was a slender young dark-haired boy, he wore a dark tunic and displayed the telltale of small elongated sharply pointy ears of an elf. He much like the woman bore he tattoos going from his feet to the side of his face, but unlike hers of flowers his was of branches.
From the second Willow had learned elves existed had she picked up the chronicles about them, so she knew the slim and tall like a young tree appearance was pretty common for this race no matter what tribe they belong too expect the cave elves. On light feet they walked past them, with an elegance Willow had yet to see in any human. Willow knew elves had a vitality few of God's creations had, and was one of the stronger species existing, but looking at them like this she didn't at all realize the danger she was in if the woman decided to attack.
"They're beautiful," she breathed out, mesmerized.
"You wanna meet her?" Before Willow could even respond, Jack has already begun to stride towards the woman and child. "Azalea! Briar"
The woman spun around, her hand instinctively resting on her dagger, then her face blossomed into a radiant smile.
"LejÃn," her smile was beautiful like the flowers in a bride bouquet as she walked towards him. She softly took his hands in hers before putting her own against her heart, the greeting of the NyserÃa elves. "What brings you to the dark forest?" Her eyes flickered with a hint of caution, briefly glancing over at the child.
"Do not worry Azalea, I am only here to visit," he smiled turning slightly and waving at Willow to come closer. "This is Willow."
"She is human, not a LejÃn," Azalea's brows furrowed slightly, as she regarded Willow with a curious tilt of her head. Willow had read that supernatural beings could see souls, and that humans was electric blues and their own grey, But she didn't know what LejÃn meant. The boy approached, gripping onto Azalea's dress while he inspected Jack and Willow with wide grey eyes. "She is not death, so is she your partner?"
"I guess you can call her that " Jack shrugged turning slightly away so Willow couldn't see his face. Willow guessed Azalea knew what a pet was, she reached out her hand with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you."
The woman looked at Jack to Willows face before taking it with a firm grip, making Willow's bones grind against one another.
"Blessed to meet you too, Willow of humans, I am Azalea, daughter of Cypress and this is Briar of Silas," She smiled warmly, urging Briar to shake too. "Is this a human thing? Bouncing hands?" she asked after the boy did almost exactly the same to Willow's hand.
"They call it shaking hands," Jack smiled giving the boy a soft look when he excitedly reached his hand towards Jack to do the same. What does he mean by they, Willow wondered looking at him with a frown, she suddenly felt the warm sensation right outside her conscious indicating Jack was about to enter her mind she had come to learn and notice.
Don't say anything, it is not common knowledge that reapers once was human. Willow felt him leave her mind still slightly pissed that even the blocking couldn't keep him from speaking to her like this.
"Come, let's go to the tribe, it is rare a LejÃn simply visits." she waved for them to follow but Jack shock his head softly waving for Willow to get closer.
"We have to go Azalea, though please greet Silas for me," he smiled before taking a firm hold of Willow's hand she had reached towards him.
They materialized on a towering stone wall that encircled what appeared to be a small kingdom, bustling with soldiers adorned in armor bearing the emblem of a boar on their chests.
"Why can't they know you where once human? and what does lejÃn mean?" Willow asked already being used to others not being able to see her as she follows Jack down the stairs, past soldiers.
"Reapers is supposed to be draped in mystery and secrets due to everyone's safety, they need to believe we are this mighty being so a hidden truth won't hurt them," he said helping her down the last wobbly steps and towards the gate slowly opening up with hundreds of soldiers on foot and horses waited. "If they knew that reapers once were simply humans, they would not respect and fear us in the same way. And lejÃn is basically a reaper of death but means bringer of Death in a old language, mostly forgotten though a few words still exist, though some they don't know what mean anymore. "
"So nobody know?" Willow frowned getting out of the way for some men rolling a cannon.
"Heaven and Hell know, but it isn't info they speak about to other species, it's forbidden." Jack shrugged and grasped her arm, realizing they couldn't exit through the gate. They reappeared just outside the wall, facing a scene that sent shivers down her spine, a small army was assembled across the field, all eyes on the imposing wall that encircled the kingdom.
"What's happening?" Her voice quivered with nervousness as Jack pulled her across the torn-up field that seemed to have once been a forest.
"It's the war for Crutopia. Normally, Death himself would be present for the lead-up, but due to some circumstances, he couldn't make it. So he asked me to go back in time to the war and report." He guided her toward a group of four men standing in the shadows of an elm tree, their weathered faces illuminated by slivers of sunlight filtering through the leaves. Willow looked back at the approaching war scene with wide eyes. She had read about reapers being able to travel back in time to moments of significant death, like during natural disasters or wars, where future reapers would come back to help their present counterparts. It was a somewhat confusing concept for her, but as they approached the group of men, their attention turned toward them.
"I have come to witness this war on behalf of Dauði from the future," Jack bowed slightly and Willow quickly did the same. "And assist in any way I can without interfering in what happens."
The oldest man among them, with his gray hair and dark eyes, glanced at Jack before nodding in acknowledgment.
"We have awaited your arrival from the future and thank you for your help, Jack." His smile was fleeting, failing to reach his eyes, as they all turned their attention toward the expanse field between the two armies, their expressions blank.
The rider atop a grey horse, positioned at the front of the army, lifted their helm, revealing a cascade of silver locks, flushed cheeks, and piercing electric blue eyes that held no trace of warmth. She issued orders and rallying cries to her diverse army, composed of humans and other species adorned in a variety of armors, all united under the banner depicting an octopus.
"Who is that?" Willow whispered, her gaze locked on the commanding figure as the young woman's authoritative voice resonated across the field, yelling orders and encouraging words.
"That is Ellanoria Critara, once heir to the throne of Crutopia, before the prince Aliash of Kiano married her through a arranged marriage and tried to kill her, making her flee with Lucifer." The word Lucifer caught her attention as she had read about Ellanoria in the chronicles of the rebirths, which Lucifer sought due to Sariel, the first one. Jack pointed at a beautiful soldier on a dark horse with messy slightly curly golden hair by Ellanoria side. "That is Lucifer."
The silver armor glistened in the sun, trying to outshine his golden hair and failed miserably. His face was like something out of a museum, making her unable to pull her eyes away from him.
"Holy crap, he's gorgeous" She whispered in awe, surprised over someone could be even more beautiful than the Fallen angel they had picked up a couple days prior. His golden eyes was hardened as he looked at the army in front of them but turned soft as they fell on Ellanoria and the pinch in his clenched jaw worsened.
Jack looked down at Willow admiring the angel and pursed his lips slightly as he stepped into her field of vision, blocking her view to Lucifer.
"I guess he's okay looking," Jack scoffed, crossing his arms as he looked at Lucifer with a grimace. "I'm surprised to not see Alaric here since Ellenorias mom was his little sister. Probably because Lucifer was too stupid to ask him for help," He grunted, earning a raised brow from the other reapers. Willow would hardly call Lucifer stupid from what she read about him. Extremely lovesick yes, but not stupid.
Willow looked at the armored people, only seeing the shadows from those wearing helmets, wondering how he knew Alaric wasn't there.
Willow was shocked, not only was it true that humans and supernatural species lived side by side, but this was something out of a movie.
"This is absolutely bonkers," She mumbled as she shivered, knowing this was gonna end in a blood bath. Jack looked down at her for a second and his brows furrowed into a frown before he pulled her to the side with worried eyes.
"This is gonna be gruesome Willow, this wasn't one of the biggest wars fought in Enzaya, but it was a bloody one. I can easily help you through this so you don't have to see a thing." Willow took a peek around him as he tried to shield her from the war cries as it begun. " I'm sorry, I sometime forget that these things isn't normal for everyone to witness at this point." His eyes softened as he rubbed her back.
"I... I think I would like that." she whispered, her voice trembling with apprehension. The cacophony of hooves and war cries abruptly ceased, and he led her over to a tree, urging her to sit down. As she settled against the tree, she caught a glimpse of the frozen scene before her, he had stopped time.
"Close your eyes," he murmured, his voice soothing, and she followed his instruction, shutting her eyes tightly. "I should never have taken you with me to this, I'm sorry."
And with that, she felt his fingers press against her forehead, and everything faded into darkness.
It felt like only moments had passed before she sensed gentle fingers brushing hair away from her face, and she heard Jack's soft voice coaxing her to open her eyes. As she complied, the scene around her had changed entirely. They were no longer on the battlefield, instead, she found herself in a vast valley, nestled on the edge of a mountain, surrounded by a vibrant blooming flowers. Her head rested on his lap, and she jolted upward, her hand instinctively reaching to rub her forehead, her confusion evident.
"How are you- you know what, I'm not gonna ask," she mumbled to herself knowing whatever answer he gave would piss her off, so she could might as well just check the chronicles. "What year are we in now? still the past?" He shook his head as he leaned back on his hand, fiddling with some flowers.
"No, we back to ours," he sighed, scratching his neck with tensed shoulders.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly, guessing that even reapers could be affected by so much death. his head snapped up and for a second she thought he would give her a genuine answer before he smirked.
"Me? I'm peachy, why shouldn't I be?" he snorted pulling a flower up and tossing it aside before standing up, waving at her. "Nap time is over, let's go home. I need a shower."
He glanced over her shoulder, freezing momentarily before swiftly positioning himself in front of her protectively. Confused, she furrowed her brow, rising to her feet and turning to follow his gaze. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight before her, four tall, lithe angels with expressions devoid of emotion stood there on white clothing. They were like statues come to life, so striking and stunning that Willow almost found it hard to believe they were actually living beings. The porcelain whiteness of their skin and the impassive gaze they held would have made them seem like giant porcelain dolls if not for the vibrant wings that graced their forms.
They looked nothing and still similar to the Fallen she had seen. Willow had read a little about them, so she knew the porcelain white skin and the emotionless stare was part of being an angel, which had truly shocked her as she hadn't expected them to be like that. Apparently angels that fell did it because they started to feel emotions, which those that wasn't archangel was created not to do as they was not allowed to have humanity. When a angel fell they would become more human in their appearance and get a pearl white complexion to better fit in. None of them seemed to have started transitioning from how they just stood there gazing at her and Jack blankly. Each of them manifested a fire sword, its silver shaft adorned with a winged crossguard.
Gulping, Willow subconsciously reached for Jacks hand, knowing that angels was one of the strongest species that existed.
"Well..." Jack pulled away from her and took a step back, his eyes glistening of mischief and something else. "I can always get me another pet that might be a little more nice to me... So nice knowing you." With a grin, he vanished into thin air, leaving Willow dumbfounded in the presence of the unflinching angels.
"Jack!" She screamed, her voice pitching higher in disbelief at his sudden departure. As the angels advanced towards her, she felt a shiver run down her spine. Trembling, she involuntarily took a step back, her mind racing as she contemplated her chances of survival. Her thoughts spiraled as she stood alone, panic threatening to overwhelm her.
Desperation surged within her, and she found herself speaking in a nervous rush, hoping her words might stave off the inevitable. "Listen, I'm a unwilling participant in all of this, I have nothing against your kind, Hell I'm a Christian, Sunday school and all. Can't we like forget all this and not send me to Hell?" She chuckled nervously as she glanced behind her knowing she wouldn't be able to outrun them, but sure as hell wouldn't stop her from trying.
"You are not being truthful," the angel with pink hair said monotonously.
"Okay a little, but I promise I will begin?" Willow whimpered when she heard a chuckle behind her.
"I'm joking, I'm joking," a familiar arm slid around Willow's waist, causing the angels to halt in their tracks just as she vanished into the veil. In an instant, they were back on the island, and his playful words continued. "I could never leave my favorite pet behind." He playfully kissed her cheek, a smirk tugging at his lips. She pushed him away, glancing around to find themselves on the patio.
"I am your only pet, and aren't you supposed to protect me you asshole? What the hell was that?!" Her frustration was evident in her snarl, yet she couldn't help but notice the lingering scent of peppermint that now clung to her. Amidst her irritation, an nagging hunger that wasn't hers began to gnaw at her, something she couldn't easily dismiss.
"And I tend to keep it like that for many years," he mumbled under his breath, his words just quiet enough to escape Willow's ears.
"You're a asshole, you know that?" Willow looked intensely at him, for the first time today getting a good look before he turned away, seeing his eyes was darker than when she first meet him, though lighter than before he had feed. "You didn't get enough food did you?" she asked wondering if that was why he had such mood swings since she met him, that it all was cause of hunger.
His face dropped for a second before he smirked, crossing his arms.
"Why? Wanna try that feeling again so quickly? and here I thought it was to much for a virgin like you." He grinned, but he didn't look her in the eyes.
"You know what? Forget I even asked, starve for all I care." Willow snarled walking away from him and towards Lina and Fahima heading out of the living room. Why did she even bother to try and understand him?
Hi guys, hope you like it so far!
I will publish a new chapter every 3 days and hope you guys will enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it â¤ï¸