Theresa-Reaper

Theresa was four, but she only cared about three things in her mortal life. It wasn't her family, who treated her like a fragile little thing nor friends because she found no one wanted to know her. It wasn't beauty, gods help her if she ever cared for such a petty thing and her dolls wished they were someone else toys.

Theresa cared about the old scythe used to harvest, that she would play with when no one was looking. She cared for the gods, for if she didn't they might smite her down for the twisted creature she is. Lastly, Theresa treasured vengeance like a rich man did money, because it offered equality and justice for those you had been damned in life.

Had Theresa been damned? Depends if being sold to her sick male neighbor, who has had several servants her age disappear and only lives there in summer, at four because her family sees her as a curse counts. To her it does. On her first night, the man was far too sleepy to try anything, but Theresa knew her luck would not last tomorrow. So, she used the three things she carried for.

Theresa prayed to Nemesis and the three furies of Hades, who are a mix of goddess and monster to Theresa. She raised the scythe and smirked as the head rolled to her feet, stopping his snores. Theresa exited his house, letting a candle catch a wall aflame. She licked her lips at the smell of blood and smoke, her appetite not yet filled. The screams of the others inside, who knew yet did nothing to stop it, echo in the wind.

She looks into the scythe to see her reflection. Her blood red eyes are alight and her dark hair is a mess. Blood trickles down her face, splattered on from the man. Her teeth look almost like fangs, wishing they were so people would fear her all the more because there are others who have it coming.

Theresa turns back at the start of the road to see the flames lick the grapes and grain. She smirks. "The fields of punishment are real, and not just in death." Theresa then proceeds to skip down the road, with the old scythe in her small hand dragging behind her.

Theresa wanders for years delivering vengeance and for-filling revenge. Some thank her, most fear her, but Theresa does not care. She is what she is, a reaper. People either cheer or run when she appears, same goes for death.

Speaking of death, her clients have not been staying dead which has annoyed her to no end. They taunt her saying death is chained. Theresa of course cut those who would not stay dead up and threw their body parts into the ocean. Then, she searched out Thanatos.

The god wasn't hard to find. Theresa always felt drawn to death, from that of animals to humans, and let her gut guide her. It didn't take a week to find the chained god.

He was handsome, Theresa gave him that, but doubtful that she could free him.

"You need to burn the wood of life, and you, Theresa, were not born with that burden."

She gritted her teeth. She hadn't come this far to let him rot and her life's work be destroyed. "Well, let me choose that burden Death. My scythe is still too large for me, so I will use the excess wood and spread my own blood on it. Then, I will pray to Hades and light it."

Death shook his head, but Theresa started anyway. "Theresa, there are immortals who want you dead and if by some slim chance this does work," Theresa lights the stick and carries it to the chains in her bloody hand that has a second heart,"you are only making it easier for them."

Theresa smirks as the first chain melts and moves onto the next one. "It does work, you are going to be free, and we can both go about our business." She goes to the third with half the stick to spare and finally moves to the last chain.

Death looks at her with concern in his breathtaking eyes. "You will not get into Elysium on this self righteous quest of yours."

Theresa puts the remaining piece in belt loop. "Tell your Lord I want fire, stoning, stabbing, and a neighbor who screams every minute from the pain."

Theresa was washing blood out of hair in a stream, with permission of the nymph of course, when she appears. The woman is naturally flawless with a beauty most women envy, Theresa instantly hates her.

The woman waves her finger at Theresa. "Hate is a strong word mortal, and it's best not to use it on someone who lives forever."

Theresa lets her clean wet hair fall to her back and glares at the goddess. "Is there something you want Lady Aphrodite?"

The goddess pretends to think for a moment before speaking and looks up with rage in her eyes. "Tell me Theresa, have you ever felt love in your fifteen years of life?"

"No."

"That's my problem. In your first act of violence-"

"vengeance."

"-you not only murdered a man who legally bought you-"

"I'm a person, not a product, and he killed other little girls."

"-and all his servants-"

"They knew and didn't stop it, they were just as guilty."

Aphrodite glares. "Let me finish mortal. You killed an innocent, unborn life in that fire who I've decided to avenge right here, right now." Theresa nods in respect, if she deserves punishment, let it be so, it's how her system worked. Aphrodite smiles at this thought. "That baby boy would have become a favorite of mine, since it would be his first life yet his soul is ancient, and it would have been a beautiful love story."

"But I killed when I was a toddler."

She nods. "That you did Theresa. Yet, and this is truly ironic, it would also have been your story."

Theresa raises her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

Aphrodite chuckles and smiles ever so sweetly. "You killed your soulmate."

Theresa stepped back and fell on her butt. All her life... she thought the stories were a bunch of bullshit.

"Nope, they're all true. Anyway, I'm in a rather forgiving mood since it's taken me so long to find you and tell you this. Therefore, I will not kill you now nor get back you in this life, but in the life you first meet your soulmate he will avenge himself. He will kill you just like you killed him, in cold blood. Only then, with a clean slate, can I create the brilliant love story I wanted from the start."

Even though her throat was dry and the world seemed to spin, Theresa found the strength to speak. "Please don't do that to him, I beg you."

Aphrodite flips her hair and smirks. "Now you regret what you did, and what could have been weighs down on you, how tragic."

Theresa hates doing so, but kneels before the goddess like a beggar. "Do not make him do such a thing. There are worse punishments you could bestow."

Her eyes light up. "Do go on."

"I could kill myself or a family member could or love could-"

"And how can love kill someone? A broken heart or that not returned, yes, but not the love of soulmates."

Theresa looks up at her. "You have the time and assets to find that solution."

There comes a time when everyone gets caught, Theresa is no exception. When soldiers find her, they attack and after a blood bath, she's captured. They gag her and restrain her to a high pole. On said pole, she's whipped for three days straight and tortured. She laughs and taunts them about this.

"I guess Death has better things to collect."

"Your wives."

"Your children."

"Your parents."

"Your siblings."

"Your comrades."

That really irked them and the punishments got harsher and harsher. Theresa kept laughing and taunting during the day, but cried silent tears at night for all the innocent and her soulmate. After months of this going on, a new recruit stumbles upon her sobs.

"Are... are you crying?"

She glares at his figure and speaks in her soft voice she used when playing with her dolls long ago. "I want to die."

He freezes. "Then give up, stop taking our food or something."

Theresa chuckles. "Being starved and having little water is one of my punishments. All the injuries I've gotten have healed, got infected, and healed again. In the night I cry because I'm a misguided woman who the world turned into a psycho and gets to remember all her sins. I've tried to go out, but you all stop me before understanding my actions."

"You must have a weakness. Tell me, and I'll get you to Hades."

Tears leak from her eyes. "Gods bless you." She tells him to bring over a torch to light her aflame. He makes contact with the stick first and she can feel her life burn away. Her screams of joy and her cries of defeat wake the rest of the soldiers. She sees Death before her and Theresa takes his hand.

He smiles. "Your decade suite is ready."

"Was I that cruel?"

"Yes, but you were also an avenger."

Nina screams in shock and sits up straight. She was scared of herself and all she had done, even ending up in the fields of punishment. But, Nina knows Theresa is not the only one at fault here, and how good did come from her actions. She'd saved a god while being a mortal, though her motivation wasn't fully that of a hero.

Nina also felt remorse and anger. Theresa had killed their soulmate, the closest any life had gotten to him, and lived with the guilt. Nina knew that if she ever found her soulmate, she'd do everything to protect him.

She felt dizzy and laid herself back down. She closes her eyes and her throat feels dry as a raspy old voice speaks in rhymes.

Random soldier-Ethan

Soulmate- Percy Jackson (but hopefully everyone reading this already knew that)

Man (or first kill)- Gabe

This chapter came to me yesterday while I was procrastinating on an English paper, so thank that paper for this chapter. Follow, Favorite, and Review.