It was warm, and she nestled in the warmth. There was a pleasant, spicy scent that stung her nostrils, and she rubbed her nose sleepily. She felt safe and protected, and someone was holding her.
She opened her eyes and looked up to see a skeletal face staring forward. She blinked, finding it odd that a skeleton was holding her, but she was not afraid. It didn’t seem to want to hurt her, it merely held her as they stood… where were they? She craned her head around. They were in a hallway. Behind the skeleton was a bedroom, and a bed with covers thrown back. Nothing looked familiar. She looked up at the skeleton and reached up, gingerly touching his chin.
The face immediately came down, staring at her, the eyes full of something she couldn’t name. Why did the skeleton seem so sad?
There was a horrible racket from the room at the end of the hall. She couldn’t see around the corner at the far end, but something large was crashing around, beating against the walls and shaking the entire house. She clutched at the skeleton’s suit, and it shielded her head with a large hand, protectively. Why was the skeleton protecting her?
“It would take the binding of a Kitsune to wake you.” The voice was instantly familiar, and Vivi shrank in the skeleton’s arms in terror. She’d been found. Suddenly she was glad she couldn’t see what was happening.
“Mrs. P, you’re a little older than the last time I saw you.” She didn’t recognize the male voice. It was hard and angry, but she could hear slivers of fear in it. “What’s it been, only five years since you made me c-cookies? By the way, always loved ‘em. Always felt they were mi-issing that special ingredient though, a touch of a-arsenic. Or maybe strychnine is mo-ore your style?”
“Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Arthur, and your stammer gives you away.”
“Couldn’t care l-less right now. You’re n-not welcome, Morgause. Get out of my house.”
Vivi’s eyes widened. Whoever the strange voice was, he knew who Morgause was. Arthur? Who was Arthur?
“Gladly, but first I’ll be collecting my belongings.”
“She’s not your belongings.”
Vivi’s hands knotted in the silken fabric of the skeleton’s suit. “He knows!” She pleaded upward, terrified. “How does he know? Nobody knows!” The skeleton pressed her head against its chest, saying nothing.
“Ah, I see. Arthur thinks he is still King. He thinks he understands, and then he hands down his judgment from on high, like he always has. But you’re wrong. Father was right. Children are only property, and Vivi is my property, and I will have her now.” Vivi’s heart clenched as Morgause’s voice rose higher. “Do be a dear and bring her out. I know she’s back there, and you know I will always find her.”
The skeleton walked forward, his steps like lead as he carried Vivi down the hall. She closed her eyes, burying her face into his chest like a little girl, unwilling to face what her mother had become. Not again. From the crack between his chest and arm, she could see them passing into the room, past a thick carpet of black and white fur that roiled with blue flame. She raised her head, and nearly screamed at the sight of a giant kitsune, bound nose to tails in cords of vibrant blue flame. It thrashed helplessly, unable to even open its mouth and give warning.
What was this place?
“Too kind of you, Lewis dear.” Vivi buried her face back in the skeleton’s chest, hiding from the owner of that voice. “Quite accommodating, but she’s a bit more fearful than I recall. Disoriented even. You wouldn’t have happened to tamper with my property, would you?”
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Worse Than Death
बेतरतीबThicker Than Water tale #2. For all the times she's berated Arthur, it would shock him to know the dark secret Vivi carries. The mark of it has now seared her hand, and it's only a matter of time before her debt is called into repayment, and her li...
