The Reaper In Black -- Chapter Four

Pushing long, dark brown hair out of her face, a woman dressed in black quietly opened a pair of shutters and leaned into the open window to check inside. Seeing everything dark as the moonless night outside, she slipped one leg over into the house, and then another. Once she was inside, she scanned the room once more, staying completely still.

A soft cry from a baby came from the room across the hall, making the woman smile.

"There you are," she whispered, stalking carefully across the room--she assumed it was a kitchen due to the fireplace, large iron kettles, and wooden tables topped with molding bread and shriveling carrots--she entered the hallway and looked both directions. Feeling as if she were crossing a street, the woman deemed it safe and slithered up to the door of the room where she had heard the baby cry. As she cracked the door open, it squeaked horridly, causing her to inhale sharply. When there was no sound or movement in the small cottage, she continued her silent march.

The baby's room was poorly decorated--something to be expected from a poor family living in poor conditions under a poor leader--with only a small rug to cover a fraction of the stone floor, a wooden crib with blankets and a pillow inside, and a rotting wooden chair in the corner of the room for the mother to sit in while she rocked her child to sleep. There were no expensive locks or alarms to warn others of her presence in the child's room; the crudeness of it all scared her. Didn't the parents realize what a treasure they had? Didn't they know how valuable this baby was? Looking at the tiny form, the woman couldn't believe that hadn't put two and two together. Where all people residing in this village had dark hair and eyes--including the parents--and fair skin, this baby had hair whiter than a full moon, silver eyes, and tanned skin despite the fact it had not been exposed to the sun. This child was a Reaper.

Scooping the baby out of the crib, the woman bounced the child on her hip as she moved toward two closed shutters on the far side of the nursery. The baby whined, as if to warn her it had decided it wanted to cry, thrashing in her arms. It knew she wasn't it's mother; Reapers always knew. They grew emotionally attached to people and things within a few days of being constantly exposed to them. Since the child was only a month or so old, the woman could take the baby and have it get used to her; it would think of her as its mother and forget all about this cold, empty cottage in the middle of nowhere.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word," she began to sing in whispered tones, continuing to bounce the child. "Momma's gonna' buy you a mockingbird,"

The child fell silent at the sound of her chiming voice, its big silver eyes studying her face.

"And if that mockingbird don't sing, momma's gonna' buy you a bell machine."

Yawning, the baby snuggled up to her side and closed its eyes. She leaned her head over and sniffed the baby; her senses rang out and told her it was a boy. Smiling to herself, the woman took a deep breath and continued her song.

"If that bell machine loses a cog, momma's gonna buy you a big black dog,"

The baby suddenly sneezes, scaring himself. He begins to cry, and she hears one of the parents get up out of their bed to check on him. Touching her hand to the hilt of a long, thin, barbed sword that hung from her hip, the woman angled her body so that she was half facing the window, half facing the door to the nursery.

"And if that big black dog won't kill..."

The mother burst into the room, irritated and partially asleep. It took a few seconds for her to register the fact that there was a strange woman in her baby's room holding her child. When it all finally clicked, the woman shrieked and hurled herself at the woman. The woman easily side-stepped the crazed mother, drawing her blade and bringing her arm back in preparation for a swipe.

"You can be sure as Hell that momma will."

The sword blade slashed into the mother in quite a gory way, leaving a mess all over the floor. The woman heard the father getting out of bed and running to the room. By the time he entered the nursery and his own sleepy mind processed his wife dead on the floor and his child gone, the woman was no where to be found. In fact, she had already crossed over to a different Time, in a different Place.

*****

"My Lady, if you'll pardon my language," Dr. Vyr said pleasantly, bowing to the panic-stricken Queen before turning to the Reaper. "What in the world happened between you and the blasted 'Reaper in black'?! You can bloody well believe I'm not buying the whole 'the assassin didn't realize I wasn't the Queen' act! You're a man, first of all; and second, any assassin that made it that far into the castle without being detected isn't going to make some foolish mistake like that! What do you take me for? A blasted idiot?!"

Madam Viasra cleared her throat, squeezing her hands tighter on the Queen's shoulders. The Queen had decided to sit at her Reaper's bedside until Dr. Vyr left, since the assassin-turned-advisor had a tendency to yell too much. The Reaper, to his own credit, just stared blankly at Dr. Vyr.

"I was an assassin once," Dr. Vyr calmed his tone slightly, lowering his voice to a more room-appropriate level. "And if there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that you wouldn't work so hard and take so many pains to not get detected just to slip up and try to murder the Queen's Reaper and not the Queen herself."

"I agree with that statement," Dr. Akdel smiled, glancing with suspicion at the bedridden Reaper. "Does the Queen even remember the Reaper that attacked them?"

The Queen shook her head solemnly, her eyes glazed over. Madam Viasra noticed out of the corner of her eye that the DL woman was gazing at Her Majesty intensely. Taking mental note of the fact, she decided to state the obvious.

"Well, the Queen's Reaper got whooped, whether the assassination attempt was for the Queen or for him."

"Are you implying the assassin may have been after the Reaper?" Dr. Akdel said just as the DL woman spoke:

"Are you admitting to knowing something about the assassin?"

Madam Viasra, accomplishing the impossible considering the fact that the DL was on one side of the room and Dr. Akdel was on the other, glared at the both of them.

"Dr. Akdel... Of course, you fool! Why else would I open my mouth?! And Luminex... I know a figure dressed in black hopped out of a window on the 27th floor, and that there wasn't a body to be found. Now you need to introduce yourself before I start pointing fingers and calling for arrests. You just happened to get here seconds before all of this happened? How do we know you weren't covering for this figure in black?"

The Luminex smirked, giving the Madam a mock bow.

"My name is Theta Livule; I'm here because the Queen was calling for a new advisor. I'm assuming your the Head Maid?"

"Why you brazen little--" the Madam lurched toward the Luminex threateningly, baring her teeth. Dr. Vyr grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back, however, and Dr. Akdel made himself useful and stepped between the two women. "Akdel, you can't let her say something like that! I have a reputation to keep up, and letting some ratty little demon walk all over me is doing that reputation an injustice!" Madam Viasra half-whined, half-hissed.

"Ooh, running to your mutt for protection, maid?" The DL snickered.

"I'll kill you!" Madam Viasra screamed. Dr. Vyr gripped her shoulders harder. The Madam's temper was infamous for being very short, and very easily set ablaze.

"Madam, please calm down. You're in the presence of Her Majesty, after all." Dr. Vyr pleaded. Hearing the words, the Madam inhaled sharply and stiffened her body. After a few more seconds, she released the breathe and sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"I hate that wretched woman," she muttered under her breath, her glare shooting daggers at the oblivious Luminex.

"I know," Dr. Vyr chuckled, patting her shoulders before releasing his hold on her. "Anyways, we're all missing a very important point here: How do we know this figure was a Reaper? What made you so sure it was, my Lady?"

"I just... I'm not sure. That person just felt like my own Reaper--what with their aurora and such. I can't be positive though, so I suppose we're looking at a very large ring of suspects."

"I see. Well now, my Lady, you have a decision to make. What are we going to do about this assassin?"

"Contact Evora; I'll need her list of contacts for my next move. This assassin wants to play this game with me? Fine. I'll win it."

"Yes, my Lady," Dr. Vyr bowed and exited the room, his movements silent. It was quite eerie.

"Unless the assassin cheats," Dr. Akdel offered, glancing at Madam Viasra to make certain she was, indeed, calmed down and not about to murder the Luminex. The Madam seemed perfectly reasonable, so he turned his gaze away.

"I didn't say I would play fair, either." The Queen smiling deviously, her eyes cold. It made Dr. Akdel shudder, even though he knew her better than most. That woman was capable of drowning children to win a game of chess--it was only a rumor, but he believed it, knowing her. How far would she go to win a game in which her Reaper had been threatened?

For a moment, he even felt bad for the assassin.

*****

"Raxyn!" She gasped, her scream echoing around her small cottage and out into the mountains. Hearing her call, a small boy--no more than seven years old--ran down the hall and opened the paper-screen wood-paneled door to the room. He rushed over to her cross-legged form, falling to his knees to bow.

"Yes?"

"Tea," she rasped, her eyes tightly shut and her head leaned back. Her breathing was labored and sweat covered her face and neck. Her heavy, simple dress and eleganty crafted robe spread out around her, covering not only her body, but also a good lot of the pillows surrounding her.

The room itself was filled with pillows; there were small pillows, large pillows, and pillows with a size somewhere in between. Each had its own design, with no common pattern evident. The large room--the largest in the small mountain house--was dimly lit by three candles that flickered with every movement. Everything was dead quiet save the sound of the boy returning with a glass bottle full of some spiced lemon tea.

Taking the bottle and keeping her eyes shut, the woman drank deeply. The boy watched her, his big blue eyes peeking out from behind white bangs. His expression was slightly hopeful; had she received another dream?

"A woman. A woman who is but is not herself. Who is her own but not her own. She resides in another Time, in a similar Place as ours." The woman said quickly, as if afraid she would forget. In all honesty, she likely would. The impression of her dreams never lasted, which is why it was important to keep her eyes closed to block the light, and to tell the boy so that he would remember. "Something will happen that will affect all Times, and all Places. It will take a long time for this day to come, but there are only a few Paths she can take to avoid it. She holds power now, but she won't be able to hold on to it on her own. She will be betrayed by those closest to her, but saved by one farthest from her. A game will be played, but both sides will cheat, and a disaster will occur. Someone will die who cannot die for the sake of averting the larger catastrophe. You..." She opened her eyes, the bright violet illuminating the room. "You need to get to her. You need to aid this woman."

"Wait... right now?" The boy asked, doubtful and concerned.

"In a few days," the woman smiled, her long white hair cascading down her shoulders to the floor around her. "When you cross the Rift to her Time, you will change. When you return, all will be the same if you wish it."

"When will I come back?" The boy knew by now that it was pointless to ask for details, especially when she talked in cryptic tones like that.

"When you either succeed or die." She said bluntly. "Of course, there's always the probability that you'll do both."

The boy hung his head, his shoulders limp and his back shivering. For a moment she thought he would cry; she believed he had every reason to do so. It wasn't fair of her to ask him to leave her again. This would be the fourth time is two years that he would leave either this Time, this Place, or both. Although they had thus far averted many disasters--she warning him of what would happen, and he travelling to stop it--he was still a child in soul, and was heartbroken at leaving his 'mother' again.

She reached her arm out and put a delicate hand on his head. He looked up at her from behind those soft bangs she loved to tousle, his eyes melancholy.

"If I don't go, and you try to fix it with your power, you'll probably die, won't you?"

She considered lying for a split second, but quickly decided against it. It was important for him to be exposed to tough decisions at a young age if he was to take her place after her death. And that day, she feared, was coming close.

"Most likely," she shrugged, smiling faintly when she realized she was emotionally unable to tell the child that her death was nearing. He had to face trials, but he wouldn't leave if he thought she would die alone. She, on the other hand, was ready; and after seven years of training since his birth, she supposed he was ready, too. "You going personally will have better results, and I won't use as much power. But it is up to you,"

"Do I need to make up a new name again?"

"Always. Never give your true name; you have no idea the control someone can have over you if they have your name. Human or nonhuman, people are manipulative and cruel in the outside world. It is a fact you must face."

"Mother," he whispered, keeping his head down. She knew he was fighting back tears as best he could, but didn't say anything. She couldn't make his decision. But once he made it, it was final. "You always say people are cruel and will trick you in a second without another thought. But if you hate people so much... and if they deserve your hatred... where did I come from? Who was my father?"

"I have a feeling you'll get an answer to that on this journey." She said sadly, falling back onto her pillows. Looking up at the ceiling, she listened to the empty tea bottle roll across the floor. She listened to his quiet cries as he tried to calm himself. Closing her eyes, she felt her heart beating, each thump faltering. She felt his energy roaring as he tried to choose; possibly find out who his father is, or stay with his mother? She had a feeling that he felt she was about to die. He was an innocent child, but so powerful already.

"I will go." He sighed, crawling closer to her. He lay on his side and buried his face in the cloth of her robe, his entire body shivering. They lay together like that throughout the rest of the night.

It felt like goodbye. For both of them.