Dead by December

The Truth Comes In Riddles

That was a hard hit I wasn't expecting, I swallowed the lump forming in my throat, "W-what?" I stuttered, Salem's face was grim,
"You killed over half of the village's population, it wasn't you though, and afterwards, it was... strange, you were... well... dead."
"But, Decim said I was murdered!" I wailed, looking wildly at the grim reaper,
"You were... just not by something obvious."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I snapped.
"Syrebel trained you as a witch, Leto, you're a very powerful witch, a dark arts witch."
"A dark arts witch?"
"You dabbled with black magic, red magic, any magic that was against the books, you performed it. But you conquered a mass of different types of magic, there had never been a witch like you."

"Syrebel said you were corrupted, that there was an evil within you scratching to get out. I never believed her, but when I stumbled across you that night... Leto, your room stank of death, and it turned out you had raised an army and you demolished the village." Salem was stony faced the entire time, "I knew it wasn't you Leto, that evil being killed you in the end, slit your throat." I was beginning to feel sick,
"W-what...?" It was hard to take in, Salem placed a hand on my shoulder,
"This time will be different, Syrebel said that once you've recovered from recent events, she'll confront you, for now, take this potion. Astraea will be staying here to help you understand and to magic up some more of the potion, it will help with the memories." He handed me a vial of mauve liquid,
"What put the block there in the first place?"
"We speculate you did, to cope." Marte spoke, I had forgotten she was there. It had felt like my reality slipped and I was alone as the world constricted me.

I got up, thanking Salem, "I'm... I'm just going to go to my room, I'll... I'll be there shortly..." I hurried away, ignoring everyone. Lucifer tried to stop me, I pushed past him rudely, Silas even tried reasoning with me, but I shrugged him away.

I got to my quarters and kicked the door open, slammed it behind me and sat down on my bed. I didn't feel like me, the red walls felt alien as I sat there contemplating. The satin sheets were foreign to me, they didn't feel like my sheets.

The knock came only an hour later, I had not moved from my position, my eyes had locked onto a spot on the wall, "I just came by to tell you to take your medicine." Silas's comfortingly soft voice did little to sway me from my stupor. It wasn't until I heard the sigh did my trance break, "Silas, come in." I spoke in a vacant, empty tone. The door opened to reveal a tired and questioning Silas. The dark rings under his eyes made them look even more extra-terrestrial, his dark freckles adorning his cheeks and dusted over his nose seemed even darker by the waxy paleness of his skin.

I motioned for the boy to come closer, the vial had been abandoned on my bed. I slid off of the bed and barrelled right into his arms, he looked slightly aloof. "I'm sorry, this isn't something I'd do, it's not something you're used to either, but I just need something to give me comfort." I mumbled embarrassingly into his shirt, it took a moment, but Silas's cool exterior melted away and he wrapped his arms around me.

Silas had a mask he liked to wear, a serious, professional mask that he upheld around figures of authority. I liked the Silas who loved a good joke, who was open about how he felt, was sarcastic and was always there with a warm hug. The serious Silas spooked me, because I wasn't used to him.

We just stood there, then I broke the silence, "Why be friends with someone like me? You knew all along,"
"Because I knew you in your past life as well,"
"How?" I asked,
"You used to be a trainee Death Dealer when Marte introduced you to Syrebel, you held great importance to the Council thanks to your ambiguous and malleable abilities, your eccentric ability to pick up different magic types proved helpful."
"I can see why." I replied, "but what was I like?"
"Back then we butted heads a lot, you were ruthless when sent out to kill, the only one who defended you was Salem, Quince sometimes justified you as well."
"Then this must be of the most awkward things right now,"
"Kind of, I have to say, I hide my discomfort well,"
"Indeed you do,"
"But I also have to add that I liked the old you better, there was something... mysterious about you, this one is way too open about her emotions. Back then you never lost your temper, and when you did, it was much more frightening because you didn't scream and shout, you were just cold."
"Maybe my memories will show that to me,"
"You were always stubborn and sarcastic though." Silas gave a crooked smile when I looked up at him,
"At least that's something familiar."