When Barron felt that he had got most of the dust off his fur, he asked, "How am I going to leave this place? You know I was doing just fine," he started with his complaints, "I was walking down the tower but then I saw you and had to come back up. Where is Lucas?"
"He is here," answered Belle, "We don't have time to stand and talk here. We need to leave the tower right now. Greed, carry Barron. Hide him in your robes," they didn't know how many other death reapers were aware that Barron the Grim reaper was not in his death reaper form but was stuck in a stuffed rabbit.
Getting down the stairs and the floors, the trio started to head down to where Lucas was so that they could leave the tower. Hopefully to never get back to the land of the dead again. Today was supposed to be a peaceful day. She was engaged to Lucas and she had hoped to sleep the night off after the guests who had arrived at the mansion whoo took their leave.
But who was she kidding, things were only going to get difficult. She wished it was possible to make peace but Lucas had never mentioned peace with the Hawverts. Winston had plans and so did Lucas.
"Oh no," muttered Greed next to her and she turned to him before looking ahead to see it was the Hawverts who were walking towards them.
"Do you think they will find out?" whispered Belle.
"Let's hope not," Greed's voice was barely audible and they continued to walk. Somewhere amid this, Belle wanted to laugh that Greed looked like he had a big stomach because of Barron who had glued himself to the Sixth Grim. it was only Barron who was in a problematic situation as his soul had not changed and smelled the same before he had turned to a fallen Grim.
Belle looked back at the three Hawverts who were taller than all the other death reapers around them. They didn't wear the skeleton forms and instead looked like mortals of the living. Abnormal mortals. She had met Crane, or more like had a glimpse of him when she had been bitten by the hell hound. And though she didn't have skin on her body, she still felt cold out of sheer nervousness.
She didn't know who was Winston and who was Gorron out of the other two but that didn't matter right now. Behind them, she noticed Lucas who stood at the floor's entrance, waiting for them. Belle didn't know how she recognized Lucas but she believed it to be Lucas.
Before they could walk past the Hawverts, one of them stopped walking, moving his hand to his right side to stop Belle from walking any further.
Greed didn't stop walking, and he walked out of the floor, leaving her standing next to the Havwert, "I don't think I have seen you before?" she heard the Hawvert question, "Where are your manners?"
There were manners in the land of the dead? Belle quickly bent forward to bow deep. She didn't stand straight until she heard the Hawvert order, "Raise."
"When did you join the tower in here?" he asked her and Belle wanted to use the sleeves of her death robe to wipe the nonexistent sweat that she felt by standing in front of the tallest and the oldest death reapers of the land of the dead. She had heard how Crane had used just his one touch that had Portia return back to this land.
Belle moved her shoulders.
"Seems like a mum one. We have other things to do Winston," came the cold voice of Crane which was more gathered compared to the Hawvert who was questioning her. So this guy was Winston, the person who had brought Barron back to the land of the dead. But it was his bone that was now in her skeleton. She wondered if he could feel it.
"Feels very strange yet familiar, doesn't she?" questioned Winston, his eyes suspiciously looking at Belle. She noticed how Crane turned around to look behind him and when Belle's line of sight moved in that direction, she saw that Lucas had disappeared from there too. Winstone blocked Belle's view as he stepped forward, sniffing the air and Belle wondered when was the right time to run.
Winston then said, "I have some work for you later. Stay in the tower." Belle bowed her head. When she stood back straight again, the hood over her head started to slip down and she used her hand to catch hold of it, "New death reapers can be troublesome," and they finally left.
When they were out of sight, Belle quickly ran out from there, making her way outside the tower to see Lucas and the others who were waiting for her. She went straight to hug Lucas before stopping to realise reapers didn't hug each other
"I thought I was going to pass out," she said to Lucas. Lucas pulled out a parchment from his robes and she asked, "What is that?"
"List of white and black witches who are going to die and some who died a few hours ago," he replied, "It might lead to who has Verves. We need to get back to the mansion."
Belle turned around to look at the entrance of the tower. She had thought that she was going to get caught when Winston had stopped her.
The Hawverts who were walking through the corridor, about to deviate to go to their own chambers, when Gorron commented,
"Since when did the skeleton of the lowly reapers have different colours?"
"What do you mean, Gorron?" asked Crane, his voice coming to be dull and uninterested in the conversation.
"The reaper Winston stopped earlier, it had one different bone on its hand, isn't that strange?" asked Gorron and when he turned to look at Winston, Winstone stopped walking, "Did you forget something?"
"My bone," Winston's eyes glared in anger, "That reaper has my bone!"
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