Daughter of Death

When Rincon finally told me to stop, and that I was done for that session, I stood up with mild reluctance. I was honestly a little reluctant to go.

“Did I do well?”

“That is not for me to decide,” Rincon says. So, of course, I think that I’ve done awful, but either way I’ve learned a lot.

“Do you want me to escort you back to the castle?” Rincon asks.

“No, I’m fairly sure I can find it,” I say. Honestly, after that comment about me spending too much time with the servants, I don’t want to spend any more time with him than I have too. Rincon watches me critically as I leave.

I decide to take the shorter route to the castle, and that involves me weaving around groups of souls being led away from the Judgment Pavilion. Most will go into servitude for however many years, then follow on into the Afterlife, which is where the souls reside and do whatever the hell they want, so long as it’s in boundaries.

There are two types of Servants. Ones like Reagon, who are born into it, the elite Servants if you will. They were never living, and therefore exist just to serve the higher beings such as myself. Then there are the Servants who are merely are serving out their term.

I hurry along, acknowledging all the bowing Shepherds with a nod of my head.

I enter through one of the Servant’s exits and use the pathway of intricate tunnels to get to my room. It wasn’t long before I made it, and I collapsed onto my plush black bed and stare up and the dark ceiling. Nothing to do now. But…

Rather guiltily, I pull my new book back out. The Last Song. I’d gotten it from the Afterlife, which was slam full of books for the souls to read, so they wished.

My guilty pleasure.
~
When Reagon finally shows up I’m finishing the book. I don’t bother to hide it, he’s already seen it. I look up at him, pat the bed beside me, and resume reading. “Two more pages,” is my explanation. Reagon glides over and sits on the bed next to me.

“Where did you even get that?” he asks when I shut it.

“The Afterlife.”

“Does anyone know you’ve been down there?”

“No one cares. I’m allowed.”

“Yes, but if your father finds you reading these books- Well, you remember what happened last time.”

“Want to know what I learned today?” I ask, changing the subject.

“What did you learn?” He asks, as if resigning himself to the worst.

I go on to tell him all the things I learned about the living. All the different crimes they commit, and what was considered ‘good’ among them. Reagon listens attentively, even though I know he doesn’t care half as much as I do. Or maybe he’s just analyzing my words to see how infatuated with the living I am. Either way, he’s a good listener.

When I’m done I cock my head a little. “You think I’m a freak, don’t you?”

Reagon smiles one of his very rare smiles, as happiness is rare down here, much rarer than in my human books. “I’ve always thought you were a freak Belial.”

I smile back at him and shove his shoulder. “Thanks, Reagon, really.”

“That’s what I’m here for.” Reagon folds his long legs and puts his elbows on his knees, resting his head in his hands. He sits like this a rather lot. “What am I supposed to do with you?”

I shrug.

“I mean, if this isn’t just a phase… You realize you aren’t going to ever be allowed to Reap, right?”

I nod sadly. Reaping is what some of my siblings do, all the older ones. They go out and collect the dead souls before sending them on their way to be ferried. “I’d love… Just to go and see the Overworld. Just once, but that’s never going to happen.” With a strange sort of hesitance, as Reagon has been my one true confident, I lean over and rest my head on his shoulder like they do in human books with their friends. Reagon stiffens, but only slightly. With a feeling like I’m about to ruin my entire existence, I tell him my biggest secret in such a quiet whisper, there’s no way I’m overheard. “I want to be human, Reagon.”

This time, Reagon stiffens completely, straightening up so fast I fall off his shoulder. He looks at me sharply. “You don’t mean that.”

“I don’t want to mean it.”

“You don’t mean it, you just think you do. You’re obsessed with the human world, but you don’t want to be one of them.”

I nod dumbly, just to calm Reagon down a bit. But he isn’t stupid; he’s known me for too long. “B, the human world is to… Forbidden. Is this some sort of rebellious thing?”

“No.”

“Of course it isn’t... Dammit, B, I could get you anything else, but you want to be human.” Reagon sighs and leans back, shutting his eyes. “How are we supposed to manage this?”

A flush of alien cheer hits me and makes me smile like an idiot, because only idiots are so happy after all. “What are you grinning about?” Reagon snaps at me when he notices.

“It’s nice to know I’ll have you at my side when my façade comes crashing down.”

“Always B, always.” He sits back up. “I’ve got to go make dinner. Give me the stupid book, I’ll take it to the Afterlife and get you a new one. Any requests?”

I hug him so hard it surprises him. “It’s not fair, it really isn’t. You’re the best, you know that?”

“Yes, I do,” he says grumpily, tucking the book out of sight.