“I’m not gonna deal with this. Get out,” I said pointing at the door.
“Why should I?” he asked.
“Because I said get the fuck out,” I pushed him out the door before slamming it in his face. I sighed as I headed back to my bed. Okay so it wasn’t very nice of me to slam the door in his face when he just wanted a bit of help, but he just gets on my nerves sometimes. Okay okay! Most of the time! You didn’t know him like I did. Shoot I lost my place, where was I? Really? Hm, okay. Anyways.
“Love? Can I talk to you please?” I heard Thorn’s voice behind the door. Why her? I just groaned in response, and I guess she took that as a yes because the next thing I know she was closing the door behind her. She stood there holding her captain’s hat in front of her seeming nervous about something.
“Yes?” I asked as I looked up at her.
“Uh, well, Love, there is something I should tell you. I mean you are my child after all and it would be wrong of me not to tell you because that’s not what a mother does, wait, no I mean-,” she was cut off by me putting my hand over her mouth.
“Mom. Shut up,” I said bluntly. “What do you want?” she removed my hand from her mouth before looking at me sternly.
“Well, since Witch Ella is dead that means the princess is next to rule. Either way, we need to go to the center of Valabin so we can reset the ranks,” Thorn said.
“Mom, we need to find the princess!” I stated.
“No we don’t,” she replied.
“Yes, we do! Why won’t you listen to me?” I asked.
“Because I am the princess!” she gasped before clamping her hands over her mouth. Yes Thorn, I know you’re the princess. No shit, it wasn’t too hard to figure out after what Eris told me.
“Excuse me?” was all I asked.
“Thorn! There’s a fire in the kitchen! Calamine was trying to cook without using her hands again!” Jakey yelled from below us. Thorn groaned as she rushed out of the room and left me there laughing my ass off at the thought of a mute girl trying to cook without her hands.
Chapter 12
We were out at sea for five days before Jakey told us that the Center Island was in view and that it would be just a few more hours. Great. I decided to head out to the deck to see just how far away we were. I was very disappointed to find out that the island was nowhere in sight.
I sighed as I watched the clouds pass by. It was a beautiful day so that was a good thing, it meant that the Witch of the Foi was in a good mood. The others were busy with their own things. Gabriel finally got up the courage to talk to Eris about what happened. I had no clue what they did after that. I still don’t. Mona is teaching Leo and Calamine sign language because we all know they need it. Ethan was helping Thorn with navigation on the older maps she had stashed away. Jakey was keeping an eye on Lander so he wouldn’t bother anyone.
“Hey flower,” Lander said as he walked up to me. Damn it.
“Nope!” I turned and walked away. He stood there looking confused. I didn’t care. I didn’t wanna deal with him right then. Too much emotion. Not something a reaper should deal with ever. I turned back around to see Lander shrug before moving a loose black strand of his hair out of his eyes and walked away. He is way too annoying. I was thinking about how much he annoyed me before I was thrust into the air. The sudden pull at my back caused the air in my lungs to escape me, also causing me to not scream. I watched as the ship quickly grew smaller. Or was it getting farther away? Either way, it scared the crap out of me. I looked around trying to find the cause of it all only being able to find the tip of a pair of demonic red wings. I almost screamed when they disappeared causing me to fall from the sky once more. I blacked out before I even got close to the ship.
~~~/~~~/~~~
I woke up in bed with a wet towel on my head. It was cold. I didn’t like it. I was alone this time and the room was dark, but I was able to tell that it was my assigned room when I reached under the pillow and found the key Lily gave me. I sensed that no one else was in the room with me and I wasn’t too sure why my back was killing me. I took the towel off of my head and grabbed my key before sliding out of bed. I quickly walked to the door and pushed the key into the lock. I took a deep breath before turning the key and hearing the soft click that I missed so much. If I open this door I could forget about all of this chaos, the princess, these unwanted feelings. I could see Lily again. I could leave it all behind! I hesitate, though. If I leave I may never see my mother again. As much as I’m angry at her for leaving all those years I still don’t want to lose her again. This is also the first time I ever had friends. I used to not have a single friend let alone multiple! Why would I give that up? Sure I miss my sister but she was the only family I had there. Here I have my mother, Eris, Mona, and Gabriel. The others I didn’t know well enough to name. I shook my head and took the key out of the door before going back to my bed. I laid down carefully before putting the damp towel back on my head. I stared into the darkness waiting to see if someone would check on me but sleep seemed to have other ideas. I felt drowsy as my eyelids struggled to stay open. It wasn’t long though before I fell asleep.
I was dreaming. I looked and all around me was a war zone. Bodies littered the ground while others fought for their side. What caught my eye the most though was the sight of a girl in a bright blue shirt. She had ash brown hair that was rather uneven in the back. Her bright blue shirt hung off her left shoulder, showing off a navy blue tank top underneath. She wore jade-green shorts that were rather short for her long legs but it didn’t make much of a difference since she also wore black leggings underneath that. A long, white, I think it was a scarf I’m not too sure, was tied around her waist and a golden necklace bounced behind her as she soared past the guards. I watched as she killed guard after guard with two crescent moon blades, the blades themselves extending away from the handle from time to time to show sort of laser-like lights bouncing between the handle and the blade. She would jump and fly above their heads with bright green fairy-like wings that would appear out of nowhere on her back. It was mesmerizing to watch her fight. Everything was so smooth and precise. That came to an end when an arrow embedded itself into her side. Her cry of agony was heart wrenching as she fell to the ground only to be picked up by the throat by none other than the Witch of the Vie. The Witch flew up into the air and held the girl, slowly choking her. I watched, helpless, as the life slowly left the girl’s body and she fell from the Witch’s grasp to the ground with a sickening thud.
I shot up, awake when she hit the ground. The cry from her when she was shot rang through my head. I felt as though someone had ripped out my heart and force-fed it to me. My heart pounded as I wondered who the girl was as I slipped out of bed for the last time. I walked to the deck and was surprised to see that we were docked on the shore of the Center. How long was I out?
I decided to run back to my room and change into something a little cleaner then head back out, but I was stopped when my eye caught the tiara that was still in its hiding place. I hesitated before grabbing it and throwing it in a bag. I jumped down to the soft sand of the island, the bag hitting my side when I landed. I looked around to see if I could figure out where they went and quickly found footsteps leading into the dense forest. I had issues stepping over the many tree roots, thorny bushes, and poison ‘mums. I walked past many statues and podiums that were crumbling even as I watched.
I was starting to lose hope when I heard something that I only know two beings would say;
“Get yer bloody arse off the ground and keep walking, Lassi,” Jakey said.
“We’ve been walking for hours! Can’t we take a break? What are we even doing here?” Gabriel replied.
“Lassi, you lazy bas-,” Jakey was cut off by a loud snap of someone’s fingers.
“Lovelies, we are here because this is where the princesses come to be crowned a witch,” Thorn explained. I quickly followed the voices knowing full well that the questions of how, what, and why would come i
n.
“How would you know that?” Lander asked. See. I told you so. I was able to see them when Thorn said the one thing I thought she would never say.
“Because, I am the princess.”
Chapter 13
My bag began to tug away from me as soon as she said that. I tried my best to hold it back, but it ended up pulling me to the ground causing my bag to fall open and the tiara to fly to Thorn’s head. When it reached her head (which caused her to squeak like a mouse) her hair came out of its braid and her outfit went from pirate to a long white dress that softly hung off her shoulders. The only thing that didn’t change about her was her eyepatch. Even magic couldn’t fix whatever happened there. Thorn stood there stunned before slowly looking up at everyone. She was about to say something when slow clapping could be heard from the other side of the small area.
“Well, well, well, look what we have here. Haven’t seen you since you helped that brat-bot escape,” Thim, the girl who almost killed me, said as she walked over to the group, several guards following behind her. She seemed to scan our group (I say seemed because it’s hard to tell when they have pure white eyes). When her eyes caught mine, a horrible smile crept onto her face.
“I thought you were dead, little reaper. How did you survi-,” her eyes caught the glimmer of one of Mona’s gears, “oh I see now. The little-failed experiment saved you didn’t she? I thought they turned you into scrap metal,” Thim taunted. Mona looked as though she was going to blow a fuse until Ethan stepped in.
“Okay, that is rather uncalled for, don’t you think?” he said. Thim looked amused as she walked closer to us.
“Well well well, I guess the little servant boy didn’t die on that last mission. Too bad too. I was so looking forward to turning his room into my new torture room,” she cooed.
“They would not let you and you know it!” Mona yelled.
“Oh, how wrong you are you piece of scr-” Thim started.
“Oh, fer fucks sake!” Jakey yelled as he pulled out a laser gun and shot Thim through the chest. She didn’t have much time to react as it moved through her and embedded itself in the guard behind her. She stood there for a minute in shock before falling to the ground. We looked at Jakey, the same guy who would bake cookies and cake just because he could, and we couldn’t believe our eyes at the sight of such a gentle thing holding a laser gun in one hand while his other hand held the other. He put them both away under his wings and fixed his glasses.
“What?” He looked at us confused. The other guards shook off the shock quicker than us and were already coming at us with their weapons. I pulled out my bow and watched as the others pulled out their own weapons. Mona pulled a blade from her back, Thorn threw Eris a large, metal mallet that was twice my size but she seemed to pick it up with ease, Thorn pulled two sabers from their holders on either side of her hips, Gabriel pulled out his two katanas from his cloak, Leo pulled out a long whip with nine tails (damn why the did he have that-wait, what? No I don’t want to know anymore), Jakey pulled his weapons back out, Ethan and Calamine didn’t have any, and Lander pulled out his guns. We were ready for them. Sure it was like two hundred against ten but we were ready!
We jumped into battle. Eris swung her mallet, connecting to every unfortunate soul’s head that was in her path. Thorn was slicing through each one in her path with a knight’s precision. Leo would swing his whip and snatch one or multiple guards, some even by the throat. Calamine would take the guards Leo grabbed and throw them high enough in the air that when they hit the ground they would most certainly be dead. I actually watched a group of guards pin Mona down and pile on top of her. Mona’s wings shot out of her back and impaled multiple guards while others ran out of the way as she stood back up. Ethan was close to her and tried to protect her as best as an untrained soldier could. Jakey and Gabriel stood back to back as they fought. Jakey would shoot one guy while Gabriel would stab another. I shot arrow after arrow as they came at me. I don’t think anyone fought harder than Jakey. He had a family to get back to. The rest of us were alone. Thorn was now an orphan. Eris has been an orphan since she was younger and her only other friends were fighting at her side. All Mona has is Eris and Ethan. From what I heard no one besides Mona and the rest of us would care if Ethan died. Gabriel has nothing left. From what I’ve heard, Calamine’s mother wants her dead. Lily wouldn’t mind if I left completely. I’m not really her sister after all. Leo and Lander only have each other so-wait. Where’s Lander? At that moment I heard a loud gunshot and a scream. I turned to see Jakey fall forwards to show Lander standing in front of him with his gun pointed at where he used to be. Eris was the one who screamed as she ran towards them. Lander pointed his gun at her, and I saw Gabriel running at her just as Lander pulled the trigger. The shot rang through as it pierced through Gabriel’s head and embedded itself in Eris’s chest. Tears stung my face as I watched both of them fall backward. Mona cried out to her friend and while she was distracted a guard grabbed one of the blades from her wings and shoved it through her torso. She looked shocked and was about to pull away when the guard ran the blade up through her torso to her heart, shutting her down for good. I couldn’t move as watched it all unravel around me. Ethan ran to help Mona only to be thrown into a tree, knocking him unconscious. Leo yelled at Lander asking him what he was doing. While Leo was distracted a guard came up behind him, took his whip from him and strangled him with it until he fell limp. I could see the pain in Calamine’s eyes as she went to use her abilities against them only to be pushed back by Lander. He held a gun to the poor girl’s head about to shoot when Thorn came out of nowhere and knocked him to the ground. Lander turned to Thorn as she helped Calamine to her feet. Lander grabbed Thorn by her throat and flew into the air, out of reach to everyone else. That must have been my snapping point because I blacked out for the rest of it.
Chapter 14
I guess I passed out at the end of it because I was in the dark place again with the younger version of Calamine. She beckoned me closer as her sad white eyes stayed locked on mine. When I got over to her she took my hand gently.
“You, Thorn, Ethan and I are currently the only ones alive,” she said softly. I stood there in shock.
“What?” was all I could manage to say. She closed her eyes and bowed her head as five ghosts appeared around us. They were the ones who died! Leo stood close to Calamine while Gabriel held onto Eris’s hand. Mona looked like a real person with brown eyes instead of her normal red as she came up to me and placed a small hand on my shoulder.
“They’re here to tell you goodbye one last time,” Calamine explained as she struggled not to cry. I already lost that battle myself as tears streamed down my face. Why was I the only one alive? Why did they have to die? Mona walked in front of me and held my hand.
“Thank you for the adventure of a lifetime,” she smiled, the metallic tone in her voice was gone. I was about to say something when I heard the soft sound of a guitar behind me. I turned to see a woman sitting on the ground with her head down. All I could see was dark aqua-blue hair. She was singing softly along to her guitar and I could just barely hear the words.
“Their screams stain your hands
Your heart is tainted black
If life should have its way and you are all alone,
If you should give up and you fall to your knees,
Don’t hold your breath my dear cause no one knows your sins but me
You try to run from fate and you try to keep your pace
You try to hide the truth and you try to get away
But after what you’ve done my dear there is no turning back
Their tears stain your hands
Your heart is tainted black”
“The blame is none but yours yet you try to persuade
The pain is none but yours yet you try to hide the slain
Don’t play my sweet you know what you’ve done
but you insist on your innocence, you think the war is won
You lau
gh it off as though it never was and turn your back
Their blood stain your hands
Your heart is tainted black”
“You try to run away but silence is what you lack
You try to forget the screams but it’s stuck in your ears
You close your eyes to the sins and quickly turn your back
But turn around my dear
for as you can see
your sins are in the open
and they’re waiting here for me”
When she finished she finally looked up at me. Her eyes were childlike and an icy blue color.
“Cerise, Daughter of Head Knight, Samuel Fate, and Princess Spina Mortem. The youngest heir to the throne. A true bloody Witch,” she said, her voice soft and sweet. I was a bit startled at the sudden sight of her.
“Who are you? Wait. Bloody Witch?” I finally realized. She shook her head.
“Who I am is unimportant. Bloody Witch? Where else do you think you obtained the red bangs?” she said as she pointed at my hair. I went wide-eyed as my hands went to my hair. Calamine walked in front of me and nodded.
“Your bangs are red, Cerise, blood red,” Calamine stated. The woman on the ground formed a small mirror out of water that seemed to pour from her hands. I grabbed the mirror and looked at my hair. Sure enough the bangs, that never wanted to do what I wanted them to do, looked as though someone soaked them in blood. I gasped as I dropped the mirror, which shattered upon hitting the ground. I took several steps back as the woman on the ground stood up and looked at Calamine and me.
“Though my name is unimportant, I’m still here for a reason. Now I have a proposition for you, if I allow you to bring back three of your friends then you must do something for me,” she said as she extends her hand to shake on it. I looked at her and shook my head.
At Death's Door Page 7
