💀Death's Apprentice💀

Chapter Thirteen: Forbidden Doors

The Apprentice

          A wave of relief washed over me as we stepped into the foyer of the apartment. Death immediately went to the library. He didn't want to use any more power than he had to, and so he had decided to book us flights to London for the next morning. Till then we were home free!

          I showed Rose to one of the spare bedrooms down the main hallway. She curiously peered down the hallways that stretched to the right and left every six feet or so. I smiled as she observed every little detail that we passed. It reminded me of when I first came to live in the apartment. Everything looked so plain and put together at first, but once I started to explore I began to notice all the amazing quirks and perks that made the house and it's owner tick. Rose hasn't seen it yet, but she was starting to. She just didn't know it yet. I only wished she could stay...

           I shook the thoughts away as I turned down one of the side halls to the left. We continued to trek until we came across a red door with a curved black handle. I opened it and beckoned Rose to go inside. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the interior. An enormous platform held her bed and nightstands high in the air, with a set of stairs going down each side. From the domed ceiling dangled a gigantic, intricate chandelier.

          At ground level lay a humongous, black desk adorned with a white vase full of red roses. I eyed them, not knowing whether the roses were there on purpose or purely by coincidence. The scene basked in the sunset's light from a floor to ceiling window that showed off the New York skyline. Dazzling lights were beginning to twinkle as dusk settled over the city that never slept. Thousands of car lights slowly moved along the ground, and yet not a single noise came through the glass.

          "This is the guest bedroom?!" Rose cried excitedly. I chuckled at her enthusiasm. "And this! We're on ground level! How does this work?!" Rose practically sprinted to the window, leaning on the window sill as she looked over New York City. Rose turned back to me, expecting her answer as she regarded me with a pondering look. Golden rays of fading sun slanted gracefully over her as she grinned at me.

          "Magic." I breathed. 

          There was a long silence.

           "....What's your name?" Rose asked. Alarm bells went off inside my head. My brain said "Yes, yes-you want to tell her! But my training screamed, "Aghhh! That is a BIG no-no!" I wanted to tell her so badly. It's not like she'll be here forever! A pang of guilt ricocheted around in my heart like a pinball machine. I knew better than to believe Death would let her walk away even if she did help us get the Scythe. The world of magic just didn't work like that!

          "Now that will lose me my Christmas bonus." I laughed.

          "Why?" Rose asked, almost sounding hurt.

          "Because names hold power in the world of magic. I'm not allowed to tell anyone, magical or not." I explained. "Only Death knows my name, and it's only because he has to. He's never allowed to speak it again." Rose watched me quizzically. "What?"

          "Oh, nothing. I just didn't realize that we were in 'Once Upon a Time.'" Rose replied teasingly. I rolled my eyes and walked over to a pair of double doors under her bedroom-balcony setup. Rose followed me curiously, laughing as I pretended to pout. "What's this?"

          "Clothes. If you're staying here till we fix fix this then you're gonna want some new stuff." Rose have me a look. "No offense! I just thought you might want something more comfortable than heels. Pajamas, for a start." I opened the door for her again and let her explore her walk-in closet. She closed the door behind her, and after a little while she came out wearing dark red pajamas made out of silk and trimmed with black lace and buttons. Her monogram had been stitched into the pockets and onto the back of the shirt.

          "I don't recall ever giving you my clothing sizes...or middle name for that matter." said Rose.

          "You never had to. The apartment just knows." I shrugged. "Come on. There's a lot more I want to show you." I smiled kindly at her and left the room. Her eyes lit up with more curiosity than ever as she scurried to keep up with me.

           Rose's bare feet slapped at the floor as we ran all around the different hallways. I showed her the green house, the relic room, the pool, the potion room, the kitchen, the game room, and even the laundry room! Rose was fascinated by everything. She wanted to know how everything worked, and I was more than happy to show her. There were so many rooms that I couldn't even dream of showing them all in one day. It was a maze of our own inside the walls of the apartment.

          I opened a bright blue door that glowed like a neon sign. It was warm to the touch, and when I closed it behind us everything went pitch black except for two pedestals that faced each other. A gold book and a silver book lay on their respective pedestals. Moonlight from who-knows-where rained down from a circular hole in the ceiling despite our being on the first floor of a five story building. We didn't dare step any closer.

          "Are those....?" Rose started, but didn't finish.

          "The Books of Life and Death. They catalog everything, and have a specific code that tells us what's meant to happen...or not happen." I whispered to Rose. We both stared in awe at the books. I wasn't supposed to be in here, and neither was Rose. I couldn't explain why I was showing her, I just...trusted her. Despite everything that had happened between us I felt like I was able to relax around her.

          "We should go." I opened the door, and without a word the two of us begrudgingly backed out of the room. The door had no handle, and so the magic of the apartment caused it to swing shut by itself once my hand left it. I stood staring at the door in silence. Death had told me that I would only know the code once my apprenticeship was over. I started to say something to Rose, but there was only one problem. She wasn't there.

           "Rose?!" I called before hurrying to find which hallway she had disappeared down. There! Rose stood in front of a tall, black door trimmed with silver skulls. Even the doorknob was a metal skull. Rose was reaching for it, and it belonged to yet another room we weren't allowed into. Only we really weren't allowed in that one!

          "Rose! Heyheyhey Rose wait! Stop!" I whisper-yelled. She turned to me in alarm. "We can't go in there. That's a room specifically for Death's use and Death's use alone. No one is allowed in there. Ever." I lead her away from it, surprised she even let me.

          "What does he keep in there?" Rose questioned.

          "I don't know," I admitted, "but he doesn't like anyone so much as looking at that door, much less touching it, and much much less going in there." Rose nodded in understanding. The sound of Death clearing his throat caused us to jump higher than a pole vaulter at the Olympics, but he was nowhere to be seen.

          "All children report to the library." Death's voice boomed as if it were coming from speakers, but there were no speakers to be seen. I clutched my heart as I let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't seen us. We began to jog away from the door.

          "Fraidy cat." Rose teased.

          "Big talk coming from someone who jumped as high as Simone Biles at competitions." I fired back with a laugh.