Sorry for the long delay! It's too abnormal that I post so late. Next chapter SHOULD be tomorrow. I'll sort of promise. Enjoy :)

Coming Back

I arose from my comfortable bed and stared out the window. It seemed like I slept forever. It wasn't sunlight outside. I sighed and put on my robes from Death himself. I hurried outside to see if I missed anything important. I couldn't stop thinking about what was said last night. Being the Deity was important but I couldn't bear to be alone anymore.

"You won't have to," Death said answering my thoughts.

"You scared me," I held my hand to my heart.

"I'm so sorry, my dear. It's important that such an innocent mind not be forced into darkness," he bellowed.

"Yes. Did I miss anything?" I asked.

"Of course not. I've decided what you will do," he started walking.

I nodded and followed his lead. We were led to another part of his kingdom. I guess it wasn't just mountains of candles everywhere. It was a very long room. There were paintings everywhere. I wasn't sure who they were. Men and women of different ages appeared. Even children were portrayed.

"These people," I started.

"They were once in your place," he answered.

"All of the Deities before me?" I asked.

He nodded and continued up the room until we reached the top of some stairs. He assumed that I sit in this beautifully decorated chair. The seat was very comfortable. In just a few seconds, spirits emerged from the painting. I almost gasped at the sight. They descended down onto the floor and waited for further instruction.

"Deities," he called upon them.

They came forth up onto the stairs into lines of two. There were so many of them. The rest of them remained at the bottom. Each of them greeted me with delight and descended back down.

"They're all so beautiful," I gazed upon them.

"Indeed they are. It's time we discussed the plan," he explained.

"What did you have in mind?" I was listening.

"You must hurry to all of the 4 realms of this land. Do you understand?" he asked.

"Yes," I whispered.

"You will persuade each King or Queen to use their power and fight against Reina with you. You will have Liam protect you along the way," Liam appeared at the foot of the stairs.

"Where do you suggest I start first?" I questioned.

"Head towards the woods. Fate will lead you to your first realm," he stated.

As he closed, the spirits all ascended back to their portraits. Uncle appeared at the bottom still, waiting for me. Death led me down the stairs and back to my room. His spirits dressed me in a long black dress. It looked stealthy enough for me. After I was dressed for my return back to Earth, they equipped me with my hood and unfortunately, a sword.

"What is this?" I glanced at it.

"He wanted you to have it. It's your backup," the spirit nodded.

I nodded and held it in my right hand. It was pretty light, considering I've been trained in weaponry before. The blade was smoother and shinier than any I've seen. I held it horizontally to my eye line. It was definitely smooth and straight. I sighed and sheathed it. They escorted me outside of the kingdom. Uncle was already waiting for me. Death came closer to me and put his robe on my shoulder.

"Please be safe. Don't lose sight of what's good," he informed me.

"I'll do this," I assured him.

He wrapped his arm around me and held me close. We walked down the stairs together until we reached Uncle. He let go and stood back like he couldn't come further. All the spirits gathered again. They made a pathway to the gates of this place. I took Uncle's arm as he led the way. Spirits bowed again for my leave. I smiled as I walked ahead. I didn't look back to see where Death was. We climbed the stairs back to Earth again. This time, the portal opened to the beginning of the forest. I felt the need to lead the way now.

"Where are you going?" he didn't act surprised.

"I think we should go into the forest. Something uneasy is happening," I breathed in the crisp air.

I was the first to step inside the forest. As I did that, a cool breeze spread upon me. It shook me up for a quick second. I hesitated to go in there. Uncle pushed me forward, gently.

"Come on," he put his hand on my shoulder.

The tall trees covered the night sky. The breeze was unnatural. It was almost pulling me in a certain direction. We kept hiking until I could see a house in the distance. I quickly hurried as the excitement grew. Once we got closer, a strange smell came from the house. Cookies? Cake? Hot Chocolate? I smoothly knocked on the door, hoping someone was in there. No one was shuffling around in there. I turned to Uncle and shrugged. The door was locked.

"Let's go inside," I suggested.

"The door is locked, Ofelia. There's nothing interesting here," he rebutted.

"No. I'm going in there," I pulled away.

I touched the strange door and felt the texture. This wasn't just any normal door. I put my face closer to it. It smelled like...gingerbread? I instantly pulled back for I thought I was going mad. I shook my head and continued to shake the doorknob.

"Ofelia!" he stopped me.

"We need to get in there. Now break the door down," I ordered him.

"Ofelia," he started.

"The door," I pointed towards it.

He shook his head and grimaced. He gently pushed me aside and put both hands out in front of him. In a matter of seconds, he pushed the strange door. I squeaked a bit when he fell inside. The door was shattered in pieces. I knew it was a different door.

"Gingerbread?" he licked a piece of the broken door.

"Do you recognize this house?" I asked him.

"No. If I did, I wouldn't have broken the door down," he looked stern.

He helped himself up and stood behind me while I walked inside. It was dark, just as I expected. A sudden shift in the room happened. My hands started to freeze up. I didn't move anymore. My eyes adjusted to the room correctly. I saw a figure by the kitchen.

"Excuse me?" I walked towards the figure.

It just stood there, staring at me. The figure's hair was out of place. They were pretty short. Uncle walked in front of me and confronted the figure himself. They just kept standing there. I decided to use my magic for once. I used a spell to illuminate the whole entire room. I said a few words and threw the orb into the air. All of the candles and lanterns were lit. I could properly see the entire room as it was. It was The Gingerbread House that resided in the frightening forests. My eyes glanced to the figure.

"I didn't mean to scare you," the witch croaked out.

"Oh, you didn't. What's your name?" I came a bit closer.

The old woman hid her face behind her shaggy black hair. She was exactly short. Her dress was saggy and tattered. This woman looked like she hadn't been outside in ages. Who was this woman? She suddenly looked into my eyes. She had cat-like eyes. They sought after your soul and kept staring. I wasn't comfortable.

"They used to call me the scariest witch there was. Perhaps you've heard of old Zelda?" she asked.

"Zelda?" I pondered her name. "I've never," I shook my head.

"Wouldn't blame you, dear. No one has come to this house in forever. As you see, I've been living my life cooking," her hands shook as she pointed to the sweets.

"You've been cooking here all this time?" I questioned.

"Yes. It's my job," she whisked some things together.

I came over to her stationary point and stopped her actions. She gave me a look of surprise and turned towards me. Her eyes focused on mine, again. Suddenly, she shrieked very loudly and fell to the floor in horror. She bit her lip and hid her face with her rotting hand.

"Please. Why are you afraid?" I asked.

"Don't act like you've never seen me before, Reina," she spoke my mother's name viciously.

"Reina?" I asked in surprise. "I'm not Reina," I assured her.

"Of course you are!" she shouted. "Don't play that mind trick on me!" she yelped.

"Mind tricks? I'm afraid I don't know any of that," I glanced at Uncle.

"Zelda thinks you're Reina. You resemble her. Here, let me take care of her," he stepped in front of me.

"Who are you?" she asked him.

"Remember the little physician boy with Death?" he asked her.

She nodded and then pulled her hand away from her face. Her eyes looked into his, still disturbed. Her look started to grow softer. She smiled sweetly at him and motioned for him to help her stand up. She whispered a few things to him and looked at me anxiously.

"I'm not going to hurt anyone," I confessed.

"She's not worried about hurting anyone now. She's worried about you," he translated.

"Reina's daughter shouldn't be plotting against her," she joked.

"It's also the Last Deity's job," Uncle reminded her.

"Oh?" her eyes grew wider.

"It's true. You saw me light up this room," I proved.

"Yes, it's true. Let me warn you that Reina is a nasty girl. She threatened me with everything I had. I'm sorry I plotted against you, Liam," she apologized to him.

"I'm not concerned," he stated.

"After Reina became the new queen, we lost contact with each other. The plan was already complete. I've just done what I do best. I want you to have my only staff. I'm getting quite old and I won't be able to accompany you on your journey," she sighed.

She hobbled to a corner of the room and revealed a long staff. She held it in one hand and shifted her weight onto it. It glowed a beautiful white. She handed it to me and kept her eye on it. I thanked her graciously and held it with both hands. It grew whiter, almost blinding everyone. It was best that I hold it in one hand. She whispered a few more things to Liam and walked back to her original position.

"What was that?" I asked about it.

"She wanted me to know that if she joined Reina, she would've been eventually killed," his words scared me.