Interlude

The Snatchress did not need sleep. She might look like a human, but she did not get hungry, tired, or aroused like a normal human being does. Her human looks was only a façade to hide something much, much, much scarier. She hid it because she cared about appearances; had she roamed around in her true form all the time, most of those poor souls who tread into her forest would die the moment they saw her. Where's the fun in that? No, she liked to be up close and personal as she took the souls of her victims and watch the life drain out of their eyes. The fear, the despair, the horror in their eyes. Oh, it gave her chills every single time~

Today, however, she had experienced the weirdest series of emotions she had in centuries, mainly because of her newest contractor. Whenever she looked at him –like, really look at him – she saw a blink. A flash of something she once had, but lost; something she cherished but was taken away from her. She never pondered the matter for so long she began to forget. But then, enter this young boy wearing a top hat, wandering around her forest, alone. How he got here, where did he come from, she didn't know, nor did she care enough to ask. To her, he was just another fool to do her bidding. Once she was finished with him, his soul was free real estate.

That was the plan at first. Now, however, as the day ended, for the first time in forever, she was confused. Not in a head-scratching way but in an emotional way. Part of her wanted to keep having him to her grunt work, but another wanted her to let him go. Both were equally loud, each one pulling her in the opposite direction of the other, and the mental tug-of-war left her mind torn and strained.

She didn't know what to do; didn't know which part she wanted to listen to. In one hand, he was just another soul for her to take. In the other, however… she didn't want to. It was the same way when he hurt his hands while cleaning the well. Were it anyone else, she wouldn't have batted an eye to their injury. When she saw his hands, though, it was like a switch that flicked on inside of her. Tending to his wounds wasn't something she thought of, she did it as if she was programmed to. But why? Why would she want to care for that little boy? He was just another contractor.

The Snatchress lied down on her loveseat, her fingers interlaced behind her head and her eyes staring at a tiny moth flying around one of the lanterns illuminating the room. After her short nap –she didn't need sleep, but liked to take short naps from time to time just for the heck of it– her headache was gone, but the flashback she had still lingered. She tried to distract herself with a good book, but she couldn't concentrate long to read more than two pages. She then wandered around her forest for an hour, hoping to catch some fool walking around aimlessly, but no such luck. Eventually, she returned to her house and sat there. It goes without saying that she didn't like the past, nor thinking about it. When you live as long as she did, the past becomes irrelevant. All she could do was live her life one day at a time and look forward to the future. Which didn't seem like a bad thing, but when you're three-hundred and seventy years old, things become a little more different. A little more complicated.

Here's the thing: not aging anymore changes the perspective on many things. Say for example the weekends: you work\study hard all week, and by the time the weekends comes around, you feel like you aged a few years. To her, weekends feel like only hours apart. It was funny, now that she thought about it; When she was alive and young, she worried herself sick sometimes that she would grow old and alone. You see, back when Subcon was a nice place to live, she was a smart girl. Very smart, if she could say so herself. She was the daughter of a highly-educated man, who just happened to be the duke of a small village in Subcon Forest. She was a bookworm, as kids these days would say; most girls her age would want a new dress or new shoes, all she wanted was more books. It didn't take long for her father to get her into law books and, a few years later, she knew the entirety of Subcon's law system by heart.

Now that she was dwelling on it, she failed to remember anything about her father beyond the fact that she had one at some point. Heck, she couldn't even remember mother if she tried. The only person she has clear memories of was… Eric…

A sad frown crossed her lips at the thought of that name. She pulled one hand from under her head and snapped her fingers, the diaries spawning in her hand in a puff of purple. She opened it and flipped through the pages until she found a picture of her past self with her little brother standing next to her. He wore a tunic, a cravat with his hair neatly combed back. He was smiling uncomfortably, his hands hidden behind him. She traced his features with her fingertip, his big, rough eyes, his broad, boyish smile, his short stature. He didn't want to wear that tunic the day the picture was taken. It's so itchy! He'd said. He was quite the stubborn little boy. But promise him something he wants, and he'll do your bidding without complaints.

Much like the boy with his Time Pieces.

A wistful smile crossed her lips at the thought. "They do act similar to each other," she muttered to herself, slapping the book shut and hugging it to her chest. The smile slowly left her face, the corners of her mouth drooping down in a sad frown. "They would've been friends if he was here…"

KA-POW!

The sound of thunder booming loudly across the air snapped the ruler out of her thoughts. She looked at the window on the opposite wall, then sat up when tiny raindrops began to stain the glass. She stood up, the book still in her hold, and walked over to the window, looking up at the treetops: she could see the lightning flashing in the dark clouds high up as more rain began to shower the vegetation.

She pursed her lips as she watched the rain for a minute. Rains should start coming a month from now. Then again, if there was one thing she couldn't control, it was the weather. She looked down at her diaries, then made them disappear with a snap of her fingers. She went over to her bookshelf and ran her finger across the spines of books lining the shelves before settling on a dark green hardback. She pulled it out, then got herself comfortable on her loveseat. Maybe a quick read will help clear her mind this time? And since it was raining, the minions will have to stay at their homes until it stopped, which means no interruptions!

She swung the cover open and took a whiff of its aroma, then let it out in a blissful sigh. Ahhh… the smell of a good book. Oh, she loved it~

Before she could read a single word, however, the door to her cottage opened. The boy walked in, his clothes completely soaked and dripping on the wooden floor and his shoes –as well as the hem of his pants– were covered with mud. There goes my time to read, she thought glumly. Maybe if I ignore him, he'll leave. And so, she focused on her book, not once looking up at him.

After a short while, she began to feel his eyes staring at her, the sound of his shaky breaths reaching her ears. After a minute, she realized the boy was going nowhere, and that he won't leave until he had what he wanted. She closed her eyes and sucked a deep breath through her nose, then let it out evenly. "Shoes off," she said at length. "I don't want you trailing mud on my floor."

A grin broke across his face as he dropped to the floor and started removing his brown shoes. Done, he dropped them next to the coat hanger and closed the door. She watched him as he took his shoes off, then went back to her book. It was a book about astronomy and the wonders that lies in space. She liked it a lot. Most of the contents of this book was nothing more than theories and assumptions made by scientists, but who knows? Since the dawn of time, man had always tried to discover the secret to immortality, and here she was: a demon made from shadows. if anything, most of those theories and assumptions are real.

Hat Boy watched her for a minute, his hands behind his back. He wasn't sure what to do or say, so he blurted the first thing that came to mind. "Whatcha readin'?"

"A book," she answered, then turned a page. He pursed his lips, shooting her a dirty look. Wanna play hard to get, eh?

"What's it about?" he asked again.

"A book about astronomy."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "What's astronomy?"

That gave her pause. She looked at him, eyebrow raised. "You don't know what astronomy is?" she asked, surprised. He shook his head. She sighed and closed the book, leaving her finger on the page she stopped on. "Astronomy is the science of space. You know, stars, planets, galaxies and all that stuff."

The boy perked up at the mention of space. "Oh, oh! I know space!" he piped, shooting one hand up, as if he was in class and wanting to partake in the lesson. "It's where I come from!" he added, poking chest with his thumb, a proud grin on his face.

"Oh, are you now?" she asked, an amused smile forming on her lips. The boy bobbed his head up and down excitedly. "Well then, space boy," she started, crossing her legs at the knee, then resting her elbow on them, her chin resting on her upturned palm. "Where do you live in space?"

"In a spaceship," he answered immediately. He then walked over and hopped onto the loveseat, sitting next to her and letting his feet dangle. "Mom and I travel around planets a lot, since it's her job and stuff."

The smile on her face slightly faded at the new information. So he does have parents, after all. "She must be a terrible mother then," she said teasingly. "Letting you wander into my forest and me taking your soul~"

"She's not!" he piped indignantly, his brows pinched angrily at her. That anger dissipated as quickly as it when he stared glumly forward and hugged his knees. "She's a great mom, it's just… she's just busy," he said at length. "Her job isn't easy, and… it's dangerous, too."

"What's her job?" The Snatchress heard herself ask. "I'm sure it's not that hard a job."

His face twisted in wariness "I-I can't tell you…" he answered, looking at her. "All I can say is that she stops bad guys from doing bad things to good people."

She hummed quietly at his answer. Stops bad guys from doing bad things, eh? Was she a police officer or something? She looked down at him, and it was then that she noticed the sadness in his eyes. "Even so, she shouldn't let her 'job' get I the way of spending time with you," she spoke to break the silence. "You're her kid, after all. You should come in first."

"I guess…" he muttered and looked to the side. "It's just that she tries so hard to balance between work and me and… I don't wanna make it any harder for her. Even so… I kinda miss her…"

The Snatchress frowned sympathetically. She somewhat understood how he felt. Father was a busy man back when she was little; he barely had time for them to do much, which made her believe that he didn't care about her for a while. Father died and Eric was her responsibility, she understood how hard it was to be a parent and do her job properly (Honestly, she was surprised she hasn't gotten any gray hairs at the time). She knew Eric missed her on some days, but he also knew how demanding being a duchess was, so he endured it. It was the same deal with the boy and his mother, and she knew it wasn't easy for him.

She caught her hand awkwardly hovering over his back and swiftly pulled it back to her lap, staring at it in confusion. Goodness, woman, she chastised herself. What is wrong with you? Why do you care about this boy so much? Why care at all? Don't you remember what happened last time you warmed up to someone? Do you want it to happen again?

No. She didn't. But she couldn't help herself, no matter how hard she tried not to. In the short time she spent interacting with the boy, she felt things she thought will never feel ever again –sympathy, compassion, concern– but most importantly… love. She forgot how warm it made her feel –like being next to a campfire in the middle of a cold night– but she was also scared to enjoy it. The last time she did, she got burned. Badly.

Even so, she couldn't help herself inching closer to take in its warmth, like a moth being lured into the flames by the dancing light of a candle. It was in her nature, in other words; she may no longer be human, but the desire to be around others and be with them was always there, deep inside of her. She fathomed the matter, and thought she could control and suppress it. For hundreds of years, she did. She even went the extra mile by either killing whoever stepped into her forest, or simply scare them away and never come back. She couldn't risk letting someone else into her life again; she couldn't risk losing all she had left again. It wasn't much, but it was all she had, and she will protect it with her life if she had to.

She sighed inwardly, then rubbed his back to comfort him. "Get some sleep, kiddo," she said as she stood up. "You're getting up early tomorrow." He looked at her as she walked over to the door.

"And where are you going?" He asked.

"Out for a walk," she answered.

"But it's raining outside," he argued, but she didn't listen; she was already closing the door behind her. He sighed defeatedly and flopped back on the loveseat, his eyes fixed at the ceiling.

She seemed upset, now that he thought about it. Did he say something wrong? He couldn't have; she seemed genuinely interested in their conversation. Maybe it was the whole Time Rift thing? The memories one travels through to get to the center of it come out as flashbacks to the owner of those memories. And, if he was honest, memories like hers would upset him as well if he thought much about it. Maybe he should follow her?

Nah. Mom once told him that when girls want to be alone, they need to be alone. She was a smart woman, and always gave him good advice… even when he chose to ignore it.

He yawned tiredly, the stress of running around all day finally catching up to him as his eyelids felt heavy. Okay, he thought. Just a quick nap. Then it's back to work.

Putting up his final fight, his eyelids slowly closed shut.

And they stayed shut until morning.

.oO0Oo.


As The Snatchress walked, the towering trees around her moved their branches above her, shielding their queen from the falling rain. Her eyes carried a distant look and her fingers were interlaced in front of her, looking for all the world like a high-class woman brooding on how to kill her husband and take his wealth.

That wasn't what was swirling in her mind, however; she was only trying to find an answer to the question that she asked herself for half a day.

Am I growing soft?

Her brows pinched and she shook her head. No, that can't be it, she's just confused; her flashback only gave her a good shunt to her past life, she was just reeling from it, still. He and Eric looked very much alike as well, but that doesn't mean she had any compassion for him.

Or did she…? She did tend to his hands after he hurt them, and fed him when he was hungry. She also gave him a place to sleep the night in. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't care, would she?

A troubled look crossed her eyes and she bit her thumbnail through the glove –a habit she had whenever she was deep in thought– and shook her head again. No, she wouldn't; she was just being a decent person.

… But she didn't need to be decent. This is her forest and she never had to be decent to any of her former contractors. Why start now?

She sighed defeatedly and massaged her temples with her fingertips. Come on, woman, get it together, she scolded herself. You're letting that boy get to you.

"You seem to have something on your mind."

She tensed when a strange voice spoke from her side, but relaxed when she saw who it belonged to: a fat person with black, wiry arms and fingerless hands. They wore a red top and yellow bottoms, their head hidden from the world with a purple hoodie and a white mask hiding their face, one eye glowing in blue. They wore a massive backpack and held a cane in their hand. Their body twitched and wobbled, as if they were a glitchy character in a videogame. They were known as The Badge Seller.

"Oh," The Snatchress said, unamused. "It's just you."

They gave her a polite bow in response. Or tried to, at least. "You look troubled," they said. "Perhaps you wish to talk to someone about it?"

"Troubled? What makes you think I'm troubled?" she said, crossing her arms and smirking to try and act normal.

"You are walking in the middle of rainy night," The Badge Seller replied matter-of-factly. "Only someone with something on their mind would do that."

Right. She forgot how smart they are. She might have made a funny face while unaware when the strange vendor chuckled. "Is it the young boy?" they asked knowingly.

She perked up at the mention of him. "How do you know about him?" she asked, squinting doubtfully at the vendor.

"We have done business in the near past," he answered. "A big spender, might I say, but a very good seed he is." They wistfully shook their head and continued: "He has this strange effect on those who come across him."

"What you mean by 'strange effect?" She jammed, crossing her arms and cocking her hip, giving the impression of a sassy teen.

"He emanates a blithe aura that can only make you adore him," they said. While they had no lips, The Snatchress was certain they were smiling.

She simply stared at them for a moment, unamused, then rolled her eyes with an uninterested sigh. "Just give me what I asked for and get the hell out of my forest," she said. The Badge Seller stared at her for a moment, their body twitching, before they bowed and reached one twitchy arm back into their backpack. They pulled it out with a big, beige piece of cloth. They released it, and it hovered in their air, taking the form of an odd object hiding beneath it.

"You can only rent it for a day," they said as The Snatchress snapped her fingers, causing the cloth and object beneath it to disappear in a puff of purple. She then reached behind her and pulled out a small sack filled with pons and tossed it over to the vendor. "And good luck with the boy."

And with that, the vendor turned and started to wobble away, disappearing behind a tree. The Snatchress pursed her lips and looked aside in thought. A blithe aura that can only make me adore him, huh? She thought to herself. An idea came to her, and the corners of her mouth twitched upwards in a tiny, sinister smile. "We'll see about that~" she said, chuckling lowly as she walked away. She will show them that nothing can get to the Queen of Subcon. Nothing.

Once the rain stops, of course.


AUTHOR'S NOTES

Sorry if the chapter was too short, but it needed to be done for the story's sake. Next chapter will be the usual length, though.