Reaver's Servants

Join Me in Death

The sound of two brothers arguing in the early morning didn't wake up the residents of Millfields, unless one counts their mother. The poor, exhausted woman didn't bother breaking up the two. She didn't really see a point anymore. She just sat there and watched them argue over any little thing and sighed. She didn't feel like a failure as a mother (not usually, anyway), but somehow felt she gave her sons too much leeway. She tried being strict with them, sending them to good schools with even stricter headmasters, and even stricter punishments. Of course, their father didn't help much. She looked out among the waters of Bower Lake and sighed mournfully. Pretty ironic, for the ghostly mother.

Mrs. Elizabeth Spade (deceased) looked at her two squabbling sons (Max and Sam, also deceased) and sighed again. She had pretty much given up at this point in…death…and settled for watching them disturb and scare off whoever decided to visit the graveyard. In life, she tried to protect her sons from their father's adventurous spirit. Mrs. Spade loved her husband dearly, but his adventurous side got him into a lot of trouble and took him too soon from his family. They never found his body after the kraken attack, so he wasn't buried anywhere near her. Something in her head made Mrs. Spade think he planned that. With another sigh, she looked over at her sons again and huffed.

"Well, maybe if you were smarter, we wouldn't have gotten caught!" shouted Max.

"Maybe if you were smarter, it might have actually worked!" shouted Sam.

Listening to her sons argue back and forth would have given Mrs. Spade a headache in life, but being dead gave her no excuse to rub her temples. "You're both dumb as rocks! Now get back in your graves!" she shouted to the two quivering ghosts. Afraid of their mother (even in death), the men happily obeyed and wisped back into their graves. "I don't know why I bother anymore." She muttered to herself. "Oh, where did I go wrong? Besides letting those poor sods that found those two at the bottom of that pit bury them next to me." Recounting her sons' deaths never put Mrs. Spade in a good mood. "I did everything I could to keep them out of trouble as children but even as adults and ghosts they still cause me nothing but heartache."

Mrs. Spade looked off near the lake gazebo at some nobleman's servants preparing for a wedding to take place that afternoon. "Oh, I never got to plan a wedding for either of those idiots. It would have been nice to see at least one of them settle down." She lamented, watching the crew string flowers along the bridge railing. "Maybe some grandchildren, too…" she sighed. It was the Mrs. Spade had an epiphany. "Wait…what is stopping those two from getting married now?" she smiled and looked among the graves. "I bet if those two had wives, they'd be forced to quit their idiotic adventures. Even if it didn't, they'd be someone else's problem and not mine!" she mused, happily. Sadness quickly adorned her face. "Oh, what self-respecting ghost woman would marry those two idiots?" she asked herself. After some thought, Mrs. Spade chuckled evilly. "Well, I might be able to fish a few out from the living world…"

Meanwhile, a Lakeview Manor

A horrible heat wave had descended upon Albion. Millfields in particular was affected pretty hard. Everyone in Lakeview Manor seemed to be drudging about like zombies. Every window open couldn't keep the servants or their master from feeling like they were melting. Reaver had sent Barry out to get the morning mail. "Better him than me." He said, as Rosie served him some cold orange juice.

"Mail call!" yelled Barry, walking into the manor. He wasn't wearing his uniform jacket, just his undershirt and pants. Usually, Reaver would punish him for being out of uniform, but seeing as he didn't want his servants to melt, he made an exception for today. Everyone made their way to the foyer, looking like sweating zombies. The girls weren't wearing their stockings and Gordon had his uniform jacket wrapped around his waist.

"Alright…" Barry sorted the mail and wiped his forehead with his arm. "Reaver, Reaver, Reaver, Barry, Willa, Beryl, Reaver, Reaver, Gordon, Reaver, Logan, Sarah, Rosie, Reaver, Reaver, Reaver, and….Reaver." Everyone walked up and took their respective letters.

Reaver took his stack and walked toward the trash can. "Lawsuit…" he said softly, as he tossed the envelope in the trash. "Lawsuit, lawsuit…" plunk, plunk went each letter into the trash can. "Lawsuit, death threat, lawsuit…" he looked at one envelope that was dripping in a red substance. "Voodoo curse…" right into the trash can it went. "Lawsuit, lawsuit, and…love letter from Benjamina…" he threw each letter into the trash, took out a small box of matches, lit one, tossed it in and watched the trash can burst into flames. "I hate sorting mail…" he murmured to himself, as he walked back into the study. "Gordon, after about five minutes put that fire out."

Logan looked at his letter, which had the royal seal on it. "Oh, it must be from my sister." He said, happily taking his letter into the study to join Reaver. Rosie looked over her letter and pointed it away from her face. She opened it, expecting it to explode, but was surprised when it did nothing.

Gordon opened his and read it to himself. "Ahh, my aunt finally decided to sell the family business." said Gordon, as he happily folded up his letter.

"What business was it?" asked Rosie, looking over her letter.

"Her store makes those little plastic things on the ends of shoelaces." said Gordon. "You wouldn't think a shop like that would have much competition…" he added, shaking his head.

Barry looked over his letter and then at Miss Sarah. She smiled happily at her letter. "Who sent you a letter, Miss Sarah?" he asked, folding up his letter.

"My older brother, Geoffrey; He's doing fine." She said, simply with a smile.

Miss Sarah walked away as Barry sighed softly. "He's doing fine…that's always been her response whenever we ask about her only living family." laughed Gordon, as he poured water on the trash can fire. "Not surprising, though. She never had a good relationship with her parents. I think it might have something to do with her deceased fiancé." Gordon left the manor with the burnt out trash can. Barry just stood there and sighed.

The day went on, the afternoon becoming muggy, which made Rosie's daily laundry duty unbearable. She stood outside, hanging laundry, just begging for wind. "It is so damn hot." She said to herself.

"Why not take a break?" asked a voice behind her. Rosie glanced behind herself and saw Logan, drinking a glass of lemonade. "Miss Sarah made lemonade, and it's quite refreshing. We can stand in front of the ice box with the other servants, if you want." He said, taking a gulp.

Rosie just glared at him. "Well, unlike a certain house guest, I have chores to do. Mr. Reaver's frilly unmentionables won't wash themselves, despite how much he whips his engineers at the factory to make that happen." Rosie finished hanging the last of the laundry. Logan stood close to Rosie, as she wiped sweat from her brow.

At 5'8", Rosie was tall, but she barely made direct eye contact with Logan. "I don't see why you detest me, unless it's for the same reasons the rest of Albion does." He said. "You've avoided me my entire visit, unless I've requested something, and the snide remarks are becoming tiresome."

Snorting, Rosie folded her arms and just looked at him. "I just find it a bit hard to believe it took eating roots and deep thinking for you to realize you were a monster to everyone." said Rosie.

"Something tells me that's not what's wrong." said Logan. Rosie said nothing. She just picked up her basket and walked away. Logan shook his head and went back inside.

When nighttime came, ghostly Mrs. Spade sat on a rock overlooking Bower Lake. "Now, let's see if there is someone around here for whom my boys can marry." She turned into a wisp and floated about. She floated past windows, looking in on each home. No one seemed to fit anything she liked, until she came across Lakeview Manor.

Mrs. Spade kept herself well hidden and watched the grounds. Reaver and his servants were outside, enjoying the cool evening. Sitting on a lounge chair, Reaver held up his empty glass, prompting Miss Sarah to refill it, which she did. Mrs. Spade took one look at Miss Sarah. "She's very obedient, even for a servant." Mrs. Spade whispered to herself as she wisped in to get a closer look. She watched Miss Sarah scold the Willa and Beryl for goofing around too close to Reaver. "Very motherly, as well…" mused Mrs. Spade. She looked over at Rosie who was taking in the day's laundry. "Very focused, and that no-nonsense look is just what my boys need." giggled Mrs. Spade. Rosie stopped dead in her tracks and looked around.

"What's wrong, Rosie?" asked Miss Sarah, taking her empty jug into the manor.

"I don't know…but I sense something." Rosie whispered, as she followed Miss Sarah inside. Inside the manor, Rosie watched Miss Sarah make another pitcher of lemonade. "Miss Sarah, may I ask you something?" asked Rosie, leaning against the counter.

"Of course, Rosie. You know you can ask me anything." said Miss Sarah, as she cut a few lemons.

"I was wondering…how do you know when you're falling for someone?" Rosie asked, with a blush. Miss Sarah blushed too and stopped what she was doing.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to go back to cutting lemons.

"Well, Lord Logan's presence here has knocked me from my routine, and though I feel like I can't stand to be around him, I don't know if I want to see him leave when he does." Rosie's voice quivered, which was something Miss Sarah never heard from Rosie.

Miss Sarah giggled and sighed softly. "Rosie, you've been in love before. I know you won't admit it, but you felt very deeply for Mr. Finn. He broke your heart, I know, but it is okay to feel something for someone else. Mr. Finn had a duty to the army, and I don't think he would have given all that up to travel with you in the circus. We had plenty of clowns anyway." The two girls laughed. "If you think there is something there for Lord Logan, you should at least talk to him about it, and see if he feels the same way. If he doesn't, it'll hurt for a while, but at least you'll have your answer."

Rosie nodded and looked at Miss Sarah. "You know, Miss Sarah, the same could be said for you and Mr. Hatch…" Rosie left the kitchen and went to put laundry away. Miss Sarah blushed and tried to focus on making lemonade.

Later on in the evening, Miss Sarah went outside to collect the dishes Reaver left (he decided to eat dinner outside and enjoy the cool evening). The wind started blowing softly, prompting Miss Sarah to look up. "Oh my, so that's why it's been so hot lately…" she said, as she stared into a dark and ominous storm cloud. Miss Sarah didn't see the wisp come up behind her, but she felt a presence behind her. "Who's there?" she asked, softly. She turned around and watched the wisp turn into Mrs. Spade.

Inside the manor, Rosie turned her head in attention as she served Reaver and Logan some wine in the study. "Something isn't right…" she muttered, as she placed the wine down.

"I think Rosie caught the scent of something troublesome." said Reaver, as he watched Rosie leave the study.

Reaver and Logan watched Rosie leave the manor from where they were sitting. "Should we…follow her?" asked Logan.

"Following Rosie has made me discover things I'd rather not know." said Raver, as he slouched in his chair with his newspaper. After a bit, Reaver looked up. "But yes, we should." He said, as he and Logan got up.

Going outside, Reaver and Logan saw the servants standing near the gate, staring at something. "If you turkeys don't put your heads down when the rain comes, you'll drown." laughed Reaver, as he and Logan approached the crowd. He got no rebuttal. He did, however, look off into the distance as a weird fog engulfed the graveyard down the way. "Well, that certainly doesn't look natural."

Nobles that lived nearby stood in awe of the phenomenon and only muttered as the storm clouds started moving closer.

"Do you see that?" asked one noblewoman.

"It's unearthly!" said another.

"Hey, isn't that maid one of Reaver's?" asked a servant, pointing to Rosie, as she made her way toward the cemetery.

"It's the scary one. I bet she has something to do with this!" said a nobleman.

Rosie, as if in a trance, walked up the path toward the cemetery and stopped at the fog. "Miss Sarah?" she called, not fazed by the moans of the dead. She squinted and looked within the unearthly fog. She saw Miss Sarah, in a tattered wedding gown, out cold next to a tree.

"Hurry and get everything ready!" shouted Mrs. Spade. "We already have one bride, we just need another now. And make sure my idiot sons are ready!" she shouted to the wisps flying about. The ghostly mother looked about and smiled. "Now…let's see…" Mrs. Spade looked over once she felt Rosie's presence. "Ahh, she's delivered herself!" Mrs. Spade turned into a wisp and met Rosie outside the fog. "I can sense something about you; that you're not going to go as quietly as your friend did." Just standing there, Rosie saw wisps surround her. "Luckily, I came prepared."

The wisps turned into hollow men and grabbed Rosie. She didn't struggle. "I foresaw this happening. I won't fight back, but let me assure you, you will fail. I don't know how, exactly, but you will fail." said Rosie, as the hollow men took her into the fog.

Laughing haughtily, Mrs. Spade had Rosie dragged toward Miss Sarah. "Not if we get this over with by midnight." She muttered, following her hollow minions.

Reaver and his servants made their way to the fog as the wind from the storm became stronger. "Well, this is it. Now what?" Reaver shouted over the loud wind.

Barry looked into the fog and his eyes widened. "I see Miss Sarah and Rosie!" he shouted, as the other servants looked in.

"It's some kind of…wedding?" asked Willa.

"Ahh and me without a gift. This is awkward." said Reaver, taking out his gun. The servants tried to walk through the fog but as they did, they felt as if they were walking into a wall.

"What's up with this fog?" asked Beryl.

"It is enchanted." said Logan, with a sigh. "Well, whoever did this did spotty work. It's thin right here." He pointed out.

"Well, I guess we'll have to keep pushing then." said Reaver, jovially. The servants put their weight together and started pushing against the wall.

Within the fog, Mrs. Spade straightened up her sons. "Alright, now don't mess this up!" she shouted.

"But mom, I don't want to get married!" shouted Max.

"The one that's awake is scaring me!" whined Sam.

"Shut it! It's about time you two settled down. We have until midnight to do this! Now, go say hello to your future brides and get to know them. NOW!" she shrieked.

The ghostly brothers looked at each other and then at Rosie and Miss Sarah. "Which one do you want?" Same asked his brother. Both ghostly brothers shrugged and made their way towards the two girls. Miss Sarah was still unconscious, but Rosie was wide awake and made it quite obvious she didn't like either of them.

Max reached his hand out to Rosie. "Hello, there. I'm Max Spade…" he said, nervously. Rosie hissed as her eyes started to glow. He recoiled quickly. "You can have her, I think I'll take the unconscious one. She doesn't look like she's going to tear my arms off. She's prettier, anyway." said Max, hiding behind Sam.

"You always take the easy way out. If you had only done that when we were in that pit, we wouldn't be having this problem." mocked Sam. "Fine, I'll marry the scary one and take one for the team, as usual, you damn coward." Sam smiled at Rosie. "So, you and I are to get married…so, how about a kiss, love?" he said as he knelt down.

"Touch us and you'll know what second death is." growled Rosie. The brothers stepped back. Rosie looked over at Miss Sarah, who was still unconscious. "How long has she been here?" Rosie demanded.

"Mom brought her here about an hour ago. She fainted when she saw Mom, and she's been out cold ever since." The brothers quivered.

"You two have any idea what will happen if this whole wedding actually happens?" snarled Rosie. The brothers shook their heads. "The moment your mother forces us to say I do, Miss Sarah and I will die and be in this limbo for eternity. I don't plan on being stuck here that long, so let us go NOW!" growled Rosie.

The brothers shook nervously. "Trust me, sweety, we would gladly do it in a heartbeat, if we still had beating hearts to speak of." said Max. "Frankly, you scare us more than the prospect of marriage itself. But we don't dare go against Mom…usually, anyway. "Besides, all the rotten things we've put her through, we believe she at least deserves to see us get married." The brothers nodded in agreement with each other.

"I hope she's not expecting grandchildren, because that's going to be impossible on many, many levels; and not just on the level of being dead." growled Rosie.

"Oh, I think she gave up on that hope long ago." smiled Max.

The storm outside the fog grew stronger. Mrs. Spade took it as a good sign and turned to her sons and their reluctant brides. "Alright, time to get this show on the road and marry off you two imbeciles!" shouted Mrs. Spade to her sons, their brides, and the hollow guests. "One of you, wake her up, now!" she shouted, pointing to Miss Sarah.

With a hollow man's nudge, Miss Sarah slowly woke up. "Oh my…I'm having that dream again…" she muttered, sleepily. When Miss Sarah realized she wasn't dreaming, she fainted again. Rosie looked up at the sky and then to Miss Sarah. The fog was having some type of effect on her.

Outside the fog, the wall was growing thinner. Barry looked inside and saw the girls, standing before a hollow man priest. "Miss Sarah!" he shouted, as he banged on the fog wall.

Reaver checked his pocket watch. "Hmm, ten minutes until midnight." He said, softly. Barry, by accident, finally smashed his way through the fog wall, and fell to the ground. Reaver and his servants rushed in, almost trampling Barry. Logan helped Barry up and they joined them. "Really, Rosie, next time send out invitations to your wedding!" shouted Reaver, brandishing his gun.

Mrs. Spade's eyes started to glow. "Get rid of them NOW!" she shouted to the hollow men.

Hollow men surrounded the servants, but they just smiled at each other. "Alright, troupe! You know what to do! Get this over with so we can have some cake!" shouted Reaver, with a disturbing smile.

"Yes, Mr. Reaver!" the servants shouted, as they ran full force at the hollow men.

With bones flying and hollow dust caking the air, the servants dispatched the hollow men quickly. Mrs. Spade looked at the hollow priest. "We don't have much time! Marry them now!" she shouted, as the priest started the vows.

Barry looked over from the hollow man he just smashed and started running toward them, brandishing the hollow man's weapon. He jumped in between the two couples and smashed the priest to pieces. "I guess he objects." said Rosie, with a smirk. It was at that time the rest of the hollow men turned back into wisps and floated away. Mrs. Spade let out a horrified shriek as the fog dissipated.

Rosie just looked at Mrs. Spade. "Told you." She said, snidely as she walked over to the servants.

"Are you alright, Miss Sarah?" asked Barry, walking over to her. Miss Sarah opened her eyes fully and looked around. With a softly smile, Miss Sarah yawned loudly and fell forward. Barry caught her and picked her up. She was surprisingly light. "She fainted again." He said, somewhat surprised.

With a chuckle, Reaver brushed the hollow man dust off his jacket and made his way toward the path with the others. "It's probably for the best, honestly. If she thinks this was all a dream, she won't freak out about it tomorrow." said Reaver, making his way over hollow man remains.

Mrs. Spade wailed loudly with her sons beside her. "Where did I go wrong?!" she cried, her sons comforting her.

"Look at it this way, Mom: do you really want them as daughter-in-laws?" asked Max, pointing to Rosie and Miss Sarah as the group left the graveyard.

"Yeah, what with their friends coming up all the time and disturbing the peace of our lovely boneyard. I mean, look what they did to our wedding guests." said Sam, pointing out the piles of hollow men bones. "Besides, you didn't go wrong anywhere in life or death. You were a spectacular mom, and you still are. You don't need to see us get married just to prove that." Mrs. Spade wiped her eyes and hugged her sons as they dissipated back into their graves.

On the way back to the manor, Barry, carrying sleeping Miss Sarah on his back, thought he heard the sounds of laughter coming from the hilltop graveyard. Barry sighed happily. Maybe I should write my mother. It would be nice to see how she's doing… he thought, as he redistributed Miss Sarah's weight for easier carrying. Logan walked beside Rosie, who blushed softly.

Later that evening, Rosie knocked on Logan's door. She was carrying a tray with a tea set on it. Logan opened the door to his guest room, revealing he had just finished packing his bag. "The tea you asked for, Lord Logan." said Rosie, holding the tray up. Logan noticed there were two cups. He looked Rosie up and down. "May I…talk to you, Lord Logan?" she asked, softly. Logan invited her in, and closed the door.

Reaver hadn't gone to bed yet. He stood by the window in his office and watched the moon as the thunder roared and the rain fell. He liked the thought of the cool rain, having had enough of the heat wave that had been plaguing the land. It was very late, and he knew everyone would be asleep. He sighed, softly and looked to the corner of the office at Reavie's basket. "Lucky you, you missed all the excitement." He said, as the cat purred in her sleep. Reaver sat down at his desk and took out his journal. He filled up his pen and began to write.

"Ahh, there is nothing like crashing a wedding to put one in a good mood. Truth be told, this is my first time crashing a ghostly affair, but it was still fun. Would have been nice to get some cake, though. Maybe I'll have Miss Sarah make a cake for dessert tomorrow night. She does make this delicious strawberry cake that is absolutely to die for…no pun intended, my darling journal. Seeing the ghostly mother tonight reminded me of my own mother. Granted, she lived in a different time…but my mind does go back to her every now and then. She didn't die with Oakvale; she died a few years prior. I do smile going back to those days of helping her on the farm after my father's death. The loving smile upon her face as she watched me do my chores from her rocking chair on the porch; the simple lunch of curds and whey with bread and fruit juice she had waiting for me when I finished my chores…"

Reaver wiped his face as if wiping a tear away (if anyone asked him at that moment if he was crying, they would have been shot immediately). He heard Reavie wake up with a mew. Reaver smiled as the little tabby made her way to his lap. He scratched her ears and continued writing.

"Tomorrow morning, my house guest, Lord Logan, leaves us and I am partially sad to see him go. I say partially because I don't like how he's upset the routine around here. I don't know how the servants feel about him leaving, I assume they are indifferent. Rosie will probably enjoy him leaving, as she's been rather annoyed by his very presence from day one. Of course, with Rosie, anything is an annoyance. Everyone in Millfields wonders why I keep her around. Well, to be honest, I rather like having someone like Rosie around. She's never dull for one, and she's a good maid; pretty obedient, as well. I wonder how obedient she is…I may have to test her obedience soon."

Reaver lewdly smirked to himself as he closed his journal and put it away. He left his office quietly and started for his room, Reavie in tow. He was about to turn the corner when he heard Logan's door open. Hiding behind a pillar, Reaver watched as Rosie snuck out of Logan's room. Her hair was a mess and she was naked, save for the coat she wrapped herself in; Logan's coat. Her uniform tucked under her arm, Rosie made sure the coast was clear and sprinted off to her room. Reaver chuckled softly.

The next morning, the servants said their good-byes to Logan, who left without much else said. Life went back to normal (or what counts as normal around Lakeview Manor). Rosie may not have shown much care to Logan leaving, but it was obvious not having Logan around would take some getting used to, for everyone. He didn't leave much reminder that he was there, but he did leave something…

In Rosie's room, in the corner, sat Logan's guitar with his coat on a nearby chair.

N'cha, everyone!

This is probably going to be one of very few chapters where Reaver doesn't have the last line. Weird, huh?

So, Rosie, am I right? Little about her: She is based on the character of Sakaki from Azumanga Daioh. Whenever I write about Rosie, I picture Sakaki, so it's a little easier to write about her. Her personality is not so much from the character she's based off of. But in one of the upcoming stories, she'll display one of Sakaki's mannerisms.

Before you ask, yes, Willa is somewhat based on Chiyo from Azumanga Daioh, but only in the aspect of being short, and wanting to be treated more seriously despite having a childish personality. You know, thinking about it, I haven't really described much of my character's looks, have I? Hmm, I should probably get on that in a story soon.

I was listening to a song by HIM called "Join Me in Death" which made me think up the idea for this chapter. I listened to it on loop while writing it. It was storming a lot while I was writing this, so it added to the spooky atmosphere. I loved it haha. We have been having a horrible heat wave here, lately, and it's all I could think about for a bit while writing, so I included it.

Next installment: They say ginger makes you forgetful, and Reaver is missing something…

As always, review and be merry, I appreciate criticism but prefer positive haha.

Tatty-bye, my doves!

Reaver, Barry Hatch, and Logan belong to Lionhead.