Chapter 7

The Return

Now, would be the part when a child might cover their ears, and ask their parents to stop reading. There was no more hope for the hero of the story any more. After all, what was more final than death? What point was left in continuing? And the parent would move closer and tell the child that not all was lost, not quite. That's because the hero always wins somehow. Don't they?

There was only blackness where I was now, no time, no pain or relief, nothing but emptiness, and loads of it. When I was living I wouldn't have been able to comprehend such a world devoid of everything, an anti-world, but now it just seemed to make sense. Knowing what I did though, there was no way I could stay. I was willing to bet the memory eaters were behind the murder that landed me here. What other truth could they have used me to hide? However, if that were the case, then none of them, not even a management level reaper such as William would be safe. I had to get back, somehow. Then maybe, just maybe, I would be able to stop them. Since when were you so noble? the little voice in my mind whispered. Since I started caring, I thought in response, and the little voice was quiet once more.

'You seem hesitant to move on.' The words rang out clearly in my mind, but it was not the voice of my own thoughts, rather the voice of someone else, a woman I did not recognize. What a strange voice it was, hardly eerie, but not at all comforting.

"Who are you?" I called out into the void.

'Who am I? That is a question many have asked, and I am afraid I cannot give you an answer. I am simply here to guide you towards one path or another. Whether you choose to pass beyond the veil, or return as a servant of death, however, is solely your choice to make.'

"Whatever let's me go back, I don't care."

'Is that your final decision?'

"Yes. I want to live."

'I knew you would choose to live.' My eyes began to burn, as if someone had pressed red hot metal against them. 'They always do…' I heard the disembodied voice say, as the pain drowned out the rest of my awareness.

There were eyes everywhere; all of them green in colour, their bodies absent. Buzzing filled my ears, and suddenly realized that what I was hearing was the voice of millions upon millions speaking at once. 'I don't want to die!' From the abyss, a child's voice cried out, clearer than others, and hauntingly familiar. The realization hit me like a tonne of bricks. What I had heard was in fact, the voice of a young William begging for his life.

One by one, more voices joined in, a chaotic chorus of desperation. But then another joined, clearer than the others. It was the voice of a young girl, lost and scared, echoing throughout the darkness. Another pair of green eyes appeared amongst the rest, and the voice became clearer. 'I want to live.' It said, in a voice that was none other than my own.

I was in bed, a luxuriously soft down comforter tucked around my shoulders. It was warm, so warm and comfortable I felt I could stay there forever. My alarm clock would come on any second now, in order to drive me out of this comfortable haven. And when I opened my eyes, I would be greeted by the plain white ceiling of my room.

I opened my eyes slowly, blinking in the sunlight that streamed in through the window. The room was much larger than any sane person would have made a bedroom, and extravagantly decorated at that. This was not my room, and I should have known from the beginning. Throwing back my covers, I leapt out of bed and ran for the door. I rattled the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. I was trapped. I sank to my knees, clutching the top of my head. I wanted to scream, yet I wasn't sure why. Anywhere… I just wanted to be anywhere other than here.

I lifted my head and looked into the mirror, meeting the eyes of a girl that looked much like me, only different. Her hair was disheveled and wild, her eyes once hazel, now green, lit with terror. She held her hand to her heart, but felt nothing. Hands trembling, she felt her wrists for a pulse, a sign that she was alive. Nothing. Only dead silence.

The door clicked. Two sets of footsteps walked in, one of them belonging to that of a grown man, and the second were that of a child. "Get up." The child spoke in a commanding voice. I obeyed. He had dark hair, the child, no, The Queen's Watchdog. One eye was blue, and over the other was an eye patch, but I knew what it kept hidden. The demon bound to him was standing near, playing the part of a nobleman's butler well. I dried my eyes on the sleeve of the nightdress. It was obviously an expensive nightdress, but I didn't care anymore.

"What do you want with me?" I snapped, the fear that shot through me as Sebastian attacked still fresh in my mind.

"For now, nothing." Ciel replied coolly. "Follow me." We walked through an infinite maze of lavishly decorated hallways. I followed him in a daze. I knew very well what I'd become, and yet it still made no sense. If I had become one of them, one of the reapers, then why was I here and not there? At a set of double doors was where we stopped. "Take care of her Sebastian. I'll be in the parlor once she is… fit to be seen by human eyes."

"Very well, young master." Sebastian, bowed slightly, and Ciel disappeared into the hallway. "This way, young lady." He said, holding open the door with one hand, and gesturing with the other. I walked in, and found myself in an equally extravagant room. There was a dressing table, or a vanity in the corner of the room. "Sit, please." He said with an air of politeness one would expect from a butler like him. I sat down in front of the dressing table, while the butler began to do my hair. Unable to comprehend what was happening to me, I said nothing.

Once I was dressed to the butler's satisfaction, he lead me down to the parlor, where the child was waiting patiently with a cup of tea in his hands. "Tea, young lady?" Sebastian offered, and I accepted. Though I realized as soon as the cup was in my hand, that drinking tea was actually a rather pointless activity, seeing is I could no longer felt thirst.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you're here Miss. Bates." Ciel spoke finally.

"Yes, I am. Seeing is last time we met, you tried to kill me."

"But he was unable to," Ciel replied, "which is exactly why you are here." He set the teacup down on the table, and the butler promptly refilled it. He took a piece of paper from his pocket, and held it up so I could see. "Does this look familiar to you?" If there was a heart still beating in my chest, it would have jumped. Held between his two fingers, was a note signed by none other than William T. Spears himself, the very same one he had given me that day... Remember when there is a will there is a way. This is not the end for you. It suddenly dawned upon me that he had been planning this all along. William T. Spears, the one who had once ridiculed and despised me, had purposely gone behind The Board's back in order to ensure my survival. "I can see from your face that it is." Ciel said.

"How did you find that?"

"It was dropped off here by a certain red haired reaper. He told us of your… predicament." Ciel took a sip of tea. "But let's not get off topic. I would like to make a deal." He said. "These beings apparently have the reapers in a stir, and I need someone reliable on the inside to figure out why."

"In case you haven't noticed," I said with a slight smirk. "The Reaper Dispatch Association and I don't exactly get along. Besides, what's in it for me?"

"You're a reaper now, and from our experience with your type, a convincing disguise should not be a problem" He said, with a cunning smile on his face. "As for your reward, according to the info provided to us, your physical body is being held by the reapers for study. I'm about to give you a chance to reclaim it. So what do you say, Eliza?"