A/N: Okay. I have finally updated. If anybody has been keeping up with my bio, they'd know that the reason I've seemingly dropped off the face of this earth is because my parents cut my Internet service. I finally got it back, after much cajoling and sweat in school. So, my apologies to those who have waited to patiently for the next chapter. Enjoy!

Title: Death's Due

Chapter Three: Of A Dark Chamber

The doors closed. She looked about her surroundings, the two torches on either sides of the Chamber offered little light. In general, the room was as cold, desolate and unchanging as time. Stone walls, stone floor, all could change into an illusion in an instant. She walked to the other end of the Chamber and waited.

You are bold, mortal.

You don't say…

Insolent as well. You have and yet have not changed.

Kel smiled. Three years is a long time.

Time-

Means nothing to you. I know. You know why I'm here.

And you know I will not give an answer.

Reading each other's minds is so much fun. Why not?

It is the fault of ignorant mortals that have brought you here. It is ignorant mortals you shall deal with, not I.

I'm only asking for-

Answers. Mind-reading is indeed enjoyable.

Kel smiled again, mirthlessly. You know something.

Yes, I do. I know your greatest fears, your deepest desires and-

"I know you. All of you."

Kel turned away from the wall. In the center of the Chamber stood the Marquis of Helvete.

"How long has she been inside?"

"A little over an hour. It's too early to see if anything's gone wrong."

"The Chamber has killed before. You think something like that can happen again?"

"Only if the one inside is not strong enough. Then they will die."

"It almost frightens me to think some mystical being that turns boys into knights can do-"

"The Chamber is by far not mystical. And you should be frightened. The Chamber could decide to whether we live or die."

"What a happy thought. I'm almost warm inside."

The Marquis walked passed her and sat down on a large armchair and she followed suit. The large fireplace roared before them in what she only thought as another illusion.

"Not an illusion." The Marquis' voice cut her train of thought.

Kel blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"No use being polite now. You're here and it is private." The Marquis sat back comfortable, looking very much at home in the chair with the fire casting shadows that seemed almost to comfort.

"What is this place?"

"The Chamber of the Ordeal. Or that is what you mortals call it." Kel looked at the Marquis. "You know that's not what I meant."

"How intuitive. You mean this 'illusion' as your mind can only describe and label. This place or 'illusion', this setting, I know not what it is. A place in the distant future I suspect." Kel pondered for a moment.

"Why are you here?"

"I am here because you need me. For answers, for questions, for destinies and pasts. I am here because you need me to be here."

"I hardly know you, much less need you."

"And that is hardly the point. You are being stubborn. Open your mind."

"How can I open my mind-"

"Try. You told me before that you want answers to questions. I will try to give you that."

Kel looked at him strangely. "You were outside, with the other nobles. You know what we need. I don't have to ask you again-"

"No. Those questions are what they need. Not you. Only you can stop what is happening in this realm. They do not need answers, but you do if you're going to stop what is already coming."

Kel took a deep breathe. "I'm trying to understand what you've just told me. You're saying that only I can stop the, the-"

"Proletariat. Yes. Only you."

"On my own?"

"Do you fear loneliness? This will not be the first time that you are alone."

"I- no. It's not that. I'm just- confused. The Proletariat, if what I've already been told is true, they are strong magically and are hundreds of miles away from here. How can I stop them?"

"That is your first question, then."

"Yes. How do I stop them?"

"You can't." Kel blinked, her eyes then narrowing. "Is that a joke? Because I'm not appreciating the humor."

The Marquis looked back at her, face in the dark. "No, this is not a joke. You cannot defeat them because I do not know how. But I do not doubt that it is possible. And only you are capable of doing so. That is the only answer I can give you."

Kel was silent. "There must be away. There's always a way."

"Yes. There is a way. My memories are too blurred. I cannot tell you anything beyond that."

Kim began to tap her fingers against the armrest. "Then you can tell me something else. How are you the Chamber?"

"I do not think you could comprehend what I am. I will try to explain. This Chamber, it has the essence of me. This Chamber is a part of me. The Chamber knows your fears, your wants, your needs and your soul. And the only one who could know this is not you, but Death. I am Death. I am the physical form of Death. I know you because when you die, your very being is bared to me, to be judged. And only then will you be truly exposed and vulnerable."

Kel tried to take in what he said. Death? Death was sitting next to her, in the Chamber?

"Then, what about the Black God, if what you're telling me is true."

"The Gods are nothing compared to what I am. And they are weak, petty, as worse as the mortals that overpopulate this world," he answered, golden eyes reflecting the fire. "And then there are the few that are above such mortals. Heroes, so to speak."

Kel shook her head. "No, this can't be happening. This is some kind of illusion, a dream, something the Chamber is trying to trick me wi-"

"No. The Chamber does not lie. And neither do I." The Marquis rose. Kel rose as well, out of habit. The chairs and fire vanished and the room returned to its cold, dull state. "Lady Knight, you will find a way to stop the Proletariat and the end that is fast arriving. You will, or you will die."

The Marquis smiled coldly at her, eyes almost threatening. "And Death does not care who it takes."