Chapter 2: Death The Kid, The Faithful Encounter?
It was early in the morning when Annabelle arose. The sun pushing through the curtains, mixed with the whining alarm clock lifting Annabelle's eyes from their slumber. A small tap on the alarm shut it off, to her relief. Pushing the duvet from her body, Annabelle climbed out of her comfy bed. She leaned forwards and flicked off her nightlight.
"Thank you for another safe night." She said as the light vanished. Taking a quick glance through the curtains, Annabelle could see the city around her slowly coming to life as people walked by, busy going about their day to day life.
Annabelle, filled with excitement upon realizing that today she began her new school, she jumped up and headed for her unpacked suitcase. Annabelle sifted through items of clothing before pulling out her school uniform which she had purchased in preparation before coming to Death City. She'd been looking forward to this day for months, the day when she could dress in her DCA uniform.
She left the neatly folded uniform on the end of her bed, before heading to the bathroom to shower and prepare herself for the day ahead. She knew it would be a long and busy day, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. After her shower, Annabelle wrapped a soft towel around her body, and then went back to her room. Peeking her head around the door to make sure she'd left her curtains closed, Annabelle smiled. Annabelle dried her hair using another towel she'd picked up. Running a brush gently through her hair, she worked out the knots. Then, she slipped into her school uniform. It fit like a glove and was extremely comfortable. Annabelle looked in the mirror.
"I'm nearly ready. My first day. It's finally here." Annabelle smiled at her reflection.
After a bit more preparation, Annabelle was ready for school. She had packed her bag with several notepads, pens and various other things she may need. Once she had checked and double checked that she had everything she could possibly need, Annabelle left. Locking the front door behind her, Annabelle set off on her trip to school.
Walking down the cobbled streets, Annabelle noticed that they looked extremely different in the day light. Annabelle felt excited about the adventure ahead of her. The streets that had been so quiet during the night filled with people as the morning rush hour begun.
Annabelle walked for a few minutes, before realizing that she had absolutely no idea where she was going, she was just flowing along with the crowd, lost in her own excitement about the day ahead, the one day that she had been anticipating for so long now. Looking around she noticed a small cafe placed on the corner of a street, it didn't look too busy so Annabelle took the opportunity to go in and ask for directions.
As Annabelle entered the small, well decorated establishment, a smiling middle aged man greeted her from behind the counter. She spoke to him briefly, trying not to make eye contact for too long, and explained her situation. Finally asking if he could give her directions to the DCA. Taking a napkin from a holder and getting a pen, the man started drawing. After a few minutes, the man handed the napkin to Annabelle.
"Here, this'll show you the way to your school." The man said with a smile on his face. Taking the napkin, Annabelle smiled back.
"Thanks for your help." She said with a beaming grin.
Eyes burning with excitement, Annabelle turned and headed for the door looking down at the makeshift map in her hands. As the cafe door closed behind her, she took back to the street in search for the DCA.
Holding the napkin out before her, Annabelle tried to translate the strange markings drawn that were supposed to be directions. It made absolutely no sense. Luckily, she had come across a group of girls wearing the same uniform as she was. Following their path she soon came across more and more people wearing the DCA uniform. Things were looking positive.
Soon enough, Annabelle came across the school. The DCA stood proudly, it looked just like you would expect any school to look. Not too small, yet not too big. The courtyard flooded with people as the school morning grew closer, conversations about weekend activities and general mundane day to day chit chat came from every direction as Annabelle weaved through the crowd towards the school.
Upon reaching the door, a shrill school bell echoed through the bustling courtyard. The students began to pour into the school. As they all filtered off to their various classrooms, Annabelle headed for the main office.
The office was quiet. By the main entrance, a receptionist sat at a desk tapping away on her computer. She was a short, strict looking woman wearing her glasses at the end of her nose. Annabelle slowly approached the woman, her brown school shoes stepping lightly on the black tiled floor. The woman peered over her glasses as Annabelle stood in front of the desk. Annabelle stood with her bag grasped in her right hand and school paperwork clutched in her left.
"Oh, you must be the new transfer student...Annabelle I presume?" The woman chirped, a cheerful smile appearing on her face which completely shattered the strict atmosphere that had previously engulfed her.
"Y-Yes" Annabelle stuttered slightly, in shock to the sudden character change.
"Ah, hand me those papers and we'll get through the boring paperwork as quickly as possible" the woman smiled, taking the paperwork from Annabelle's hand and proceeding to look through it.
Soon enough the woman had finished and Annabelle had to sign a few things before being sent on her way to class. Annabelle found her class with ease. It wasn't a large school, so it was easy for Annabelle to navigate her way around.
Annabelle stood in front of the classroom door, her heart pounding and threatening to break free of her chest. She took a deep breath and nervously pressed her teeth down on her lower lip. Her new class mates were sat behind this door waiting for her arrival. This was it, the big moment.
Annabelle reached her hand out to the shiny silver door handle and firmly pushed it open. As she stepped into the bright room, approximately twenty pairs of eyes turned to stare in her direction. It was at this point Annabelle realised that she'd never been so afraid in her entire life. Not knowing where to look Annabelle's eyes fluttered around the room. Trying to avoid making eye contact with these new faces, Annabelle looked to her right, a tall dark haired man stood leaning at a desk. This presumably was her new teacher.
"Ah, you must be our new student." He said with a welcoming smile on his face. "Come on in, there's no need to be shy." he grinned as Annabelle slowly walked in to the classroom.
Every pair of eyes was on her.
"So, why don't you introduce yourself." The teacher said when Annabelle finally reached him.
"I-I'm Annabelle." She said so quietly not even the teacher, who was standing right next to her, could understand the words she'd managed to mutter.
"You'll have to speak up a bit, or no-one will know your name." The teacher said, trying to coax Annabelle out of her shell. Annabelle looked down at the floor briefly to compose herself, before taking a deep breath and looking towards the class.
"I'm Annabelle" She said with a bit more confidence. This time the teacher was satisfied and smiled.
"Well Annabelle, I'm Luke, I'll be your teacher" He said loud enough for everyone to hear. "Welcome to the class. There is a seat over there for you, just next to Ivy. If you need anything, any help or if you have any problems, then just come and talk to me. Okay?" Annabelle nodded and silently made her way to her seat which Luke had pointed out to her.
Once Annabelle had sat down and was no longer the centre of attention, she relaxed. Taking out one of her notebooks and a pen, Annabelle was ready to learn. About ten minutes into the lesson, Luke set the entire class work. Annabelle found it hard as she was new to the class, but she slowly managed to get it done. Beside Annabelle, Ivy sat talking to her friends and not even attempting to complete the work, they whispered quietly before Ivy suddenly turned to Annabelle with a huge smile stretching across her face.
"Hi." She said enthusiastically. Annabelle looked up for a brief moment and smiled slightly.
"Hi..." Annabelle replied quietly before going back to work. Ivy's enthusiasm was overwhelming, making anyone feel slightly on edge in her presance. Ivy looked back to her friends and giggled quietly before facing Annabelle again.
"So, how long have you been in Death City?" Ivy asked.
"I got here yesterday." Annabelle smiled, trying to hold her nerves together.
"Really? I've lived here my entire life. So have Clover and Bonnie here." Ivy said, indicating to the two girls sat behind her.
Clover and Bonnie both smiled at her and Annabelle felt obliged to smile back, though it was a forced smile. All she wanted was to get back to work, she didn't feel comfortable talking to any of the girls straight away. Entering the classroom was difficult enough, never mind entertaining conversation with sed class.
"I like your notebook Annabelle." One of the two girls said, possibly Bonnie Annabelle thought, but she was unsure.
"Thanks..." Annabelle replied self consciously, looking at her notebook.
"So Annabelle." The other girl, Clover, began. "Do you know about the fireworks tonight?" Annabelle shook her head.
"Good thinking Clover!" Ivy butted in with excitement "Annabelle, you should come to the fireworks with us. The DWMA puts them on every year, and Lord Death's son will be there." Ivy chirped. Clover and Bonnie giggled.
"I didn't know Lord Death had a son." Annabelle mumbled to herself, she was more interested in her work than what the girls had to say.
"Oh yes, he does. His name is Death The Kid. Though everyone calls him Kid. He really likes me, were like secret lovers" Ivy gloated, lost in her daydreams. Annabelle couldn't decide whether this was some kind of joke but she didn't dare offend Ivy by asking. She'd already picked up on the fact that Ivy was a 'popular girl'.
"So, are you coming to the fireworks, or not?" Ivy asked.
"Umm, okay." Annabelle said, it wasn't like she had anything better to do and it might be a nice way to make some new friends.
"Great!" Ivy exclaimed. "Why don't you meet us by the fountain down the street from the DWMA. It's the best place to see the fireworks. We'll be there at eight."
Annabelle nodded and then Ivy turned away from her, leaving her in silence once more. Looking to the front of the class, Annabelle saw the teacher Luke watching her. He seemed nice enough. Breaking her eye contact quickly, she went back to work.
The day flew by quickly as Annabelle threw herself into her work, trying to desperately catch up on all the things she'd missed between moving schools. Luckily the school year had only just begun, so Annabelle could catch up quickly. Before she knew it, the final bell rang and it was time for the pupils to head home.
Annabelle took her time walking home, she was slowly beginning to recognize certain parts of the town which made it easier for her to find her way around. Soon enough Annabelle arrived home with plenty of time to get ready for the firework show that night.
She entered her house with a spring in her step, though she wasn't overly interested earlier, the excitement of the firework show had been bubbling up inside her all day. She headed to her room and began rooting through her still unpacked suitcase for something nice to wear. She finally settled on a casual outfit, happy with her decision she headed to the bathroom to shower and change. She prepped her hair and threw on a little make-up before finally heading out.
After checking that the door was locked, she headed off into the darkening street. As the streetlights slowly began to flicker on, she was reminded of the night upon which she had arrived. However, tonight was different, as there was an event in the heart of Death City, the streets were flooded with families, making their way towards the DWMA. Small market stalls lined the streets with merchants selling items typical of a festival ranging from cotton candy to caramel apples. Bright colours lit the streets, colourful signs and Chinese lanterns decorated Death City as the sound of children's laughter danced through the air. Annabelle headed through the brightly lit streets and stalls towards the fountain. Luckily on her walk home from school she had passed the fountain, locating it in preparation for this moment. It was only a few minutes from her house.
As Annabelle reached the fountain, she noticed that there weren't many people around. She was a little bit early but that didn't matter. She admired the fountain and smiled as she looked upon the legendary statue of Lord Death placed solidly between the cascading water. Looking around, Annabelle tried to see if the girls were nearby. She couldn't see them. Checking the time she saw there were still a few more minutes before 8 o'clock.
The minutes flew by as Annabelle waited for the girls to arrive. Constantly checking the time, Annabelle grew nervous that they wouldn't be making an apperance. Looking through the crowds of people, Annabelles eyes locked onto a familiar face. However, it wasn't one she was happy to see. There, through the growing crowds in the square, stood a group of men. The same men from the night of her arrival. Annabelles eyes locked onto them as they turned to noticed her gaze.
"Surely... they won't do anything. Not with all these people around" Annabelle muttered to herself with clenched fists trying to stay calm.
Something about these men sent shivers down Annabelle's spine. A dangerous aura radiated from them as if warning her to turn and run. The men began to talk amongst themselves in hushed voices before laughing and setting off towards Annabelle. Her first and only thought was to run. She clenched her fists simultaneously with her eyelids as she began to push her way through the street.
Her eyelids stayed closed, glued together with fear, until suddenly something sent her flying to the cold, hard ground. Annabelles' eyelids jumped open, looking up to see a single silhouette standing before her, shrouded in darkness. However, strangely, Annabelle felt safe in its presence, the aura was unlike the dangerous one she felt earlier. It felt safe, yet strangely powerful. A hand reached from the mysterious silhouette, offering to help her up. She warily took the offer.
As their hands met, Annabelle felt a strange sense of power coursing through her blood. As she was pulled from the ground to her feet, she felt a gentle strength as she rose. it was as if time itself had slowed down around her. All sound became muffled as if she was being plummeted into the depths of the darkest ocean. The fireworks that had just begun in the sky became blurred colours fluttering around her, as the lone silhouette finally became clear.
Golden eyes clasped onto her deep blue gaze as she stood clutching the hand offered to her. Annabelle had never felt power like this before, power that blurred reality around her into a jumbled mess, that even made time itself slow down. This was no ordinary person standing before her and she knew that without a doubt in her mind.
Suddenly, in a sharp blur, time cast itself back into normality, the fireworks were clear as were her surroundings. The immense power she had just experienced was gone. Annabelle stood in an empty alleyway, with her arm reaching out into the darkness that had once inhabited the kind hand that had offered her assistance. She was alone again.
As the fireworks crashed into the night sky, Annabelle looked around, confused. A strange sickly feeling suddenly knocked her out of her dazed confusion and forced her to remember why she was in the alleyway in the first place. The aura from earlier began to creep up on her. A foreboding sense of danger weighed itself down on Annabelle as the laughter from earlier echoed through the thin, dark alleyway. Annabelle pressed herself into the smallest ball she could at the back of the alleyway. Praying, with all her might, that she wouldn't be found.