The sunrise or the sunset, hold your sadness like a puppet

Keep putting on the play

But everything you do is leading to the point

Where you just won't know what to do

And the moment that you're laughing

There is someone there who will be laughing louder than you

So it's true, the trick is complete

You've become everything you said you never would be

You're a fool, you're a fool

-"Sunrise, Sunset" Bright Eyes

Chapter Fourteen:

This was somehow worse then his voice and the way he had called her by her full name, which was actually a practice used by some relatives to show that they were upset with someone. He had taken her drawings down.

It wasn't as if she wanted them up. She had asked him to take them down many times. It's just; she hadn't ever expected him to do so. They'd been up for some time now, along with the swing. If he got rid of that, Susan decided, she would take this whole thing seriously. Er…or more seriously.

His desk was also cleared off. Albert's hogwatch gifts, his flowers, his mug, everything was gone in his office. Susan went around the desk. The Death of rats nibbled nervously on his bony tail atop her shoulder as she did.

"This desk is different." Susan said, somewhat to herself. She grabbed the handle on one of the drawers and pulled. It opened smoothly, which proved that it was new. Old drawers have a tendency to stick no matter what the contents of said drawer are.

'That girl must've gotten it for him." She said as she started to check the rest of the drawers.

If he was just throwing some sort of temper tantrum he may have just put all of his things in his drawers, rather then throwing them out. All of them were empty except for the one on the top right, which was locked.

SQUEAK.

"I don't know." Susan said. "The key isn't anywhere around. Probably nothing. Perhaps it was already locked." She said as she eyed the drawer suspiciously.

SQUEAK. The Death of Rats said as he jumped down onto the desk and made a few complicated motions.

"I don't have anything to pry it open with." Susan said. "Come on. I want to see something in his yard. "

She started towards the door. The Death of Rats jumped up and hurried after her.

XXX

Elizabeth was debating with herself over a cup of tea. She couldn't really taste it. It felt as if everything, including her taste buds had gone numb, which was probably a blessing because it was far too strong and had begun getting cold almost an hour ago.

A day ago she wouldn't have even hesitated. But a day ago she wasn't worried about losing everything. It was very frustrating.

She stood up and walked across the floor in bare feet. It was just after noon and she was still in her oversized nightshirt. She went to the sink and dumped out her tea, and for a moment just stood there.

The last time she had been this depressed was after her father died. And really, she felt almost as if he were dying again. No matter what choice she made she lost. If she married that wretch of a man she would have to move out and live with him. Sure, maybe she'd get a bit of her land, but she'd have to watch the majority of it become his…no…become his father's to do with as he wished. And if she didn't marry she'd be kicked off of her land, which would be divided among a bunch of men who would use it for gain and tear it up without a second thought.

No it wasn't fair. Damn Dorjan Corbet. Damn Walter and Devon May. If she accepted Mr. May's offer, she'd be losing more then most of her land, and, possibly all hope of ever being happy again, she'd also be breaking a promise she'd made to her father on his deathbed. But if she didn't…

I'll go…I'll have dinner with him. Then I'll decide. She thought. She tried to put the disappointment she was feeling with herself at the back of her mind.

Damn me. She thought as she went to her room to change.

XXX

The flowers in his garden were dead. They were lying shriveled and blackened on the soil.

SQUEAK.

"Yes. I know, I can see." Susan said a little testily. She still had a bit of a headache and she was beginning to feel a little worried. "Still, the swing is still here and so is the wheat."

Yes, She thought, but he hasn't been out here yet. Perhaps the flowers are just a result of the way he was feeling. She tried to push that thought away.

The Death of rats, who had fallen silent, suddenly jumped up and scurried off of her shoulder to hide in her hood.

"Hey!" Susan said exasperatedly.

YOU ARE STILL HERE? Susan spun around as her grandfather approached. Her headache flared up again. She had a feeling that if Elizabeth had ever seen him like this, she probably wouldn't have accepted the job for any amount of money he could give her; the word pleasant wouldn't have come to her. In fact…she probably wouldn't have ever left her house again.

"Yes, well…"

YOU ARE HUMAN, AND THEREFORE, YOU DO NOT BELONG IN MY DOMAIN.

"What about Albert? He's human." Susan said with annoyance. She didn't like being afraid of him.

YES. I HAVE CONSIDERED THAT AND I FEEL THAT PERHAPS HIS PRESENCE SHOULD ALSO BE REMEDIED. I HAVE NO USE FOR A SERVANT. Susan was shocked.

"You can't get rid of Albert he's been here for years…and he doesn't have any time left in the real world!" She felt her cloak tighten slightly as the Death of Rats crawled to the ground.

THERE ARE NO YEARS HERE. HE IS ONLY PUTTING OFF THE INEVITABLE. He said as he walked past her towards the stable. When he did, Susan's eyes were drawn to the Death of Rat's who was following him in the inconspicuous sort of way that made his presence even more obvious.

"Where are you going?" Susan snapped, angrily. She was speaking to the Death Of Rats, but her grandfather must've thought she was talking to him, because he responded.

THIS IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN, SUSAN STO HELIT. Death said. The Death of Rats motioned towards her Grandfather and began to inch around him.

"Where did you put all of the stuff that was in your office?" Susan asked, as she pulled her eyes away from the small skeletal rodent.

IT WAS QUITE USELESS. I DISPOSED OF IT. Death said. DO NOT THINK THAT YOUR PRESCENCE ESCAPES ME. YOU ARE ANOTHER UNECESSARY SUBSISTENCE. He said as he picked the Death of rats off of the ground by his robe.

I SHALL DEAL WITH BOTH OF YOUR AFTER I AM FINISHED WITH MY WORK. He said as he dropped the skeletal rodent again and then headed into the hay-infested darkness.

"I don't know what you think you were doing." Susan said as the Death of rats darted beneath her cloak.

SQUEAK. He said and quickly scurried back onto her shoulder.

SQUEAK SQUEAK!! He was holding something shiny out to her. Susan took it from him and looked at it for a moment. She hid it quickly as her grandfather charged past her on Binky. He vanished a moment later without saying a word.

When he was gone Susan pulled the key out from her cloak and eyed it carefully.

"The key to his desk?"

SQUEAK. The Death of rats said smugly.

XXX

Someone was knocking on Elizabeth's door enthusiastically. She pulled her hair back and walked towards it cautiously. There was a peephole in the top of the door that she rarely used, she pulled it back now and frowned.

"Why are you here?"

"Well, we are having dinner aren't we?" Walter said in a jovial voice that suggested that this evening would be a sort of living hell for her, and quite amusing for him.

"I wouldn't expect you to have the class to escort me." She said heavily.

"No call for that, Miss Shaul. Besides, I aint. I need to see if my son's future wife can cook, don't I?" On the porch beside him, the cat had drawn near to see if the newcomer was interesting or not. (Ie, if he had any food) Walter, saw it and stomped heavily, while making a sound through his teeth. The cat darted under the porch.

"Pardon?" Elizabeth asked coldly. "I thought you were inviting me to dinner."

"Yes, but if you recall, you turned THAT invitation down." Walter turned back towards her and smiled toothily. Elizabeth glared at him.

"I'm afraid you find me quite unprepared then." She said through gritted teeth.

"No problem. We can wait. Besides, you and I have much to talk about." He motioned towards the cart he had traveled in, where a woman and a greasy young man were sitting and watching. "Aren't you going to ask us in for tea, Miss Shaul?"

XXX

"This place could use a tidying up." Mrs. May said as she entered. She was tall and had an eternally screwed up face, as if she had smelled something foul and was expressing her distaste for it. "There is paper everywhere."

Devon followed both of them in and eyed everything with a sort of jaded gloominess. His greasy hair was slicked back and he was wearing a wretched looking dress suit of some sort.

Elizabeth attempted to ignore both of them.

"Sit down if you like." She said broodingly. "I shall get the tea." She walked towards the kitchen, casting Walter a heated look as she did.

"Where ever shall we sit?" Olette said after Elizabeth was gone.

"Just sit anywhere, wipe off that couch, there." Walter said.

"Dad, do I gotta marry her? She's weird and she's simple looking." Devon complained as his mother began brushing drawings onto the floor.

"Shut up boy. Pretty soon you'll be rich and married, which is more then I can say for you if you don't marry her. You aint gonna get anything better because you aint good looking and you aint got anything a girl is interested in. Now sit down and shut up."

"Where are you going?" Olette asked as Walter headed towards the kitchen.

"Gonna speak with our hostess." He said shortly.

"I don't like her." Devon said as he sat down with a scowl.

"That doesn't matter dear. You don't have to. You just need to marry her." Olette said without paying much attention, she had stood and was looking around the room.

"So much junk." She said callously. Her eyes fell on a cloth-covered easel as she walked by the window. "What is this, I wonder?" She said as she took the cloth and removed it gracelessly. She looked at it for a moment with the blank puzzlement of someone who is not entirely sure what they're looking at.

"What an odd painting." She said. "I can barely make it out."

Devon made a sound in the back of his throat.

"Put the cloth back on, momma." He said weakly. He had gone rather pale. His mother eyed him with a bewildered expression.

"What is the matter with you?" She asked.

"Can't you see it? Put it back on!" She did, out of surprise.

"It's only a painting, Devon." But she was feeling a bit uneasy now, too.

"I don't care. It gives me the creeps." He said wretchedly.

XXX

"Here's your tea." Elizabeth said sullenly. Walter took a sip and made a face.

"I hate orange."

"It's all I have." She said as she turned back towards the teapot.

"Toss it, I'd rather go without." He said. Elizabeth took it from him angrily and poured it down the sink.

"What do you say we get down to business?"

She didn't say anything as she poured herself a cup of tea and sipped at it absently.

"Now, I was thinking, that, after you and Devon are married…"

"If…we are married." Elizabeth said a little distantly, her mind had begun to wander.

You know She thought to herself. He drank the tea even if it was Orange. She frowned. Perhaps it was a bit odd to think of Death at this time.

"Right…" He said, with some amusement. "If you're married, I thought you were, perhaps entitled to an acre of Devon's land…perhaps even two?" She came out of her thoughts.

"Two acres of my land. Your so generous." She said sarcastically.

"All right. I aint unreasonable. What do you want?" He said, with the air of a man who will win either way. Elizabeth's teacup stopped halfway to her lips as she considered this. She lowered it back onto the counter and turned around.

"I wanted everything from the canyon to this house." She said as she turned towards the man. To her intense irritation, he laughed.

"That's almost half. No way." He said. "How about I give you…your canyon and everything…oh…three acres from it."

"No." She said coldly. "That's hardly anything at all."

"You don't have much of a choice." He said. "You won't get a better offer, that's for sure." Elizabeth tightened her jaw.

"I could stay unwed." She said finally.

"But then you'd lose everything." He said.

"Yes, but so would you." She replied. They watched each other for a moment, daring the other to back down.

"Fine." Walter said. "Five acres."

"No." Elizabeth said almost immediately. Her eyes were burning.

"Six…that's all I'm willing to give you."

"I want everything to this house." She said. Walter glared at her for a moment and then stood.

"I'll give you seven, and if you don't accept that I aint goin any higher. I'll walk out of here." He stood.

"Oh? It would be such a shame if you couldn't stay for dinner." Cynicism dripped from her words like venom.

"Joke as much as you like. Either way, I'll have a home to go back to. If you don't get married you wont have anything."

Elizabeth seemed to be arguing with herself. After a moment of silence, her face fell.

"Fine." She said. "Seven acres and the canyon." Walter grinned and stuck his hand out. She ignored it.

"And you aren't getting dinner."

"A pleasure." He said as he withdrew it.

"Get out of my house."

"As you wish. I'll be back tomorrow for all of the technical stuff."

"I shall await your return with abhorrence." She said as he left the room. When he did she picked up his mug and threw it as hard as she could against the door.

XXX

Susan shoved the tiny key into the lock and twisted. She heard a click. The Death of Rats peered over the top of her desk to get a better look as she slid the drawer open. There were two items inside. One of the items was a small half shriveled weed. Susan didn't think this was very much help. But the other thing…

SQUEAK. The Death of Rats said righting himself as he nearly fell over the side.

"It's a lifetimer…" Susan said as she reached in and her fingers closed over the hourglass. She pulled it out and examined it closely.

The words Elizabeth Amaia Shaul were scrawled along the side.

SQUEAK?

"It's her's."

SQUEAK SQUEAK.

"I think I shall have another word with him when he returns." Susan said with a sigh.

SQUEAK?

Susan's eyes narrowed a bit.

"Fine…you may leave." The Death of Rats jumped off of Death's desk gratefully and hurried out of the room.

Susan turned the hourglass in her hand and watched as the sand poured. According to the lifetimer, she had quite a lot of time left…at least by human standards, so, logically there was no reason for Death to keep it nearby. Unless of course his reason was illogical. Susan met this with some frustration. But she couldn't help but also feel relieved.

She set the glass down and waited for her grandfather to return.

XXX

Hope this wasn't too terrible. My brain feels like it's full of fuzz. I think I'm trying to overcome writer's block. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and such. I'll update as soon as I can.