Episode 3

Jester’s POV

I was having a delightful dream! I was reaping souls. I had forced children to give up their souls. Now I was reaping the souls. Now I was reaping the soul of a young woman who was struggling for life, I had struck her right in the ribs and collected her soul. She was sobbing not wanting to die. Her sobs were music to my ears. Her sobs got louder as if she was right in my face. That’s when I woke up. I still heard sobbing and quickly saw that it was Armina. I sat up a little and looked over at her. She was crying in her sleep. “No…”: I heard her mumble. I laid back down and held her closer to me.

“Shhhh, it’s alright, Little Maroon. I’m here for you. You’ll be alright. I won’t let anything happen to you.” I whispered in her ear. “Dad… Rhoan..” Little Maroon mumbled. I stroked her hair. Her sobbing came to an end but she still whispered in her sleep. “Jester.” She whispered. She’s dreaming about me? I smiled at this as I continued to stroke her hair. I nestled her in my arms before falling back asleep.

In the morning, I woke up again but this time it was daytime. Armenia was still in a peaceful slumber in my arms. I carefully removed my arms and got out of the coffin. I knelt down to face her. She looked so beautiful when she slept. So still, motionless as if she were dead. Just then I saw her shiver a bit. I lightly poked her face. I was cold to the tough. I unbuttoned my cloak and put it on her. Careful not to wake her up. I brushed my hair then put on my crooked hat. After freshening up, I went downstairs into the kitchen and started on breakfast.

Armina’s POV

I was dreaming about Rhoan and my Dad. We were in our basement and my mom was with us. I watched as my mom was slowly dying right in front of us. We all cried uncontrollably. “Please don’t ever forget me.” Mom said. My mom stroked my cheek before going limp. “No..” I said holding her hand. We all fell into a fit of tears. “Shh, it’s alright, Little Maroon. I’m here for you. You’ll be alright. I won’t let anything happen to you.” I heard a voice whisper. It was Jester, but I didn’t see him anywhere. Our tears became acid and our bodies started to burn. My brother and dad began to die in the acid. My body did the same. “Dad… Rhoan…” I managed to say. I was about to black out but then I saw Jester looking down on me. He was passing judgement on me. “Jester.” I whispered. Then everything went black.

I woke up with a gasp. I was back at The Jester’s room. I turned over and saw that he wasn’t in bed. I shrugged before climbing out. “How the freak-?” I whispered to myself. I fell out of the coffin and landed face first on the floor. “Freak!” I blurted out. “Heheheh.” I heard Jester’s laugh. I stood up and very carefully and slowly walked out of the room. I shuffled my feet so I wouldn’t step on the cloak and fall. I would take it off but it’s keeping me warm and it’s comfy. I slowly walked downstairs and smelled a familiar scent. Pancake and bacon, not frozen store brand but homemade. I picked up my pace and made it to the kitchen without falling. “Good morning, Little Maroon.” Jester greeted, as he turned around to face me. How did he know I was in here? Then again, he is Death. He can probably sense my presence. “Morning.” I said. “I had a splendid dream last night! I was collecting souls. I was forcing small children to give up their souls. Eh heh heh heh heh heh.” Jester reminisces with an evil giggle. “Cool.” I said with a faint smile. He gave me a toothy smile in response. “You like bacon and pancakes, right?” He asked. “Who doesn’t?” I replied. “Exactly!” Jester laughed.

I giggled at his response. “You have an adorable laugh, Little Maroon.” Jester complimented. I felt my face heat up a little. Not sure why… “And blush, hee hee.” He giggled. Blushing? Me? Blushing? I never blush! Errg! What is he doing to my emotions?! Meh! “Hehehehehehehehe! It’s alright to blush, Little Maroon!” he laughed.

After breakfast, I took off Jester’s cloak and handed it back to him. I sat down on a coffin and watched Jester work on one of his guests (in this case a corpse.) The body was so badly mangled that I couldn’t tell if it was a boy or girl. It was a child. I knew that. A very bloody child. “Whoa, what the hell happened to… the corpse? I can’t even tell its gender.” I asked “Heh heh, this here is a 7 year old boy. He was kidnapped and tortured to death. His kidnapper used a small yet sharp knife and cut open his stomach and ripped out all of his organs and ripped out his teeth and cut his tongue off. Then, to make him suffer worse, he gouged the lads eyes out before dumping salt and broken glass into his sockets.Finally he leaves him suffer until he dies.” Jester explained. “Jesus!” I blurted out. “Jesus ain’t got nothing to do with this.” said Jester.

“This isn’t the only one. Whoever kidnapped this boy has tortured many other children and teenagers. All of them are tortured in the same way. However, I’ve been hearing that he rapes young women and little girls before killing them. So please, don’t go outside unless I go with you.” warned Jester. “I won’t.” I reassured him. “Good.” He said. “The sight of the corpse doesn’t bother you?” He asked.”Nope.” I said casually. “Want me to help you prepare him for his final ceremony?” I asked. He looked up at me shocked at first but then gave me a creepy smile. “I’d be delighted if you would!” He replied, still smirking at me.

I gave him a mocking grin. “Alright, before we start embalming him, we must clean off all the blood.” He explained. I nodded. He opened a drawer and took out two old towels. He soaked them in ice cold water then ringed them out before handing me one. “Do you know why I used cold water?” He questioned. “Duh, it cleans blood better than warm water. I’m a girl, I should know.” I answered. He laughed at my response understanding what I had meant.

After embalming the boy, Jester asked jokingly, “You did a lovely job. Very nice for your first time, heh heh. Are you sure you’re not a mortician where you’re from?”

“No. But I’ve taken classes.” I replied. He chuckled then ruffled my hair. “Hey, stop that!” I said jokingly playfully swatting his wrist. I used my fingers to comb my hair. Then Jester messed it up again. I looked up at him then reached my hands to his head and messed up his hair knocking his hat off doing so! We continued the hair battle and then it turned into us flopping our sleeves at each other like mindless idiots. So this is what friendship feels like. I slowed down at the thought. Then went limp. I’ve never experienced friendship before. Other than with my brother but he's always busy with his band. I hadn’t realized that I sighed at the thought and brought my gaze to the floor. Jester lightly lifted up my chin making me look at him. “What’s wrong?” He asked, concerned. “Uh, it’s nothing. It’ll sound really corny.” I replied.

“Please tell me.” Jester said, concerned. I feel like I can trust him enough to open up my heart for him, even from the short time I’ve spent with him. Sighing, I began, “It’s just that nobody’s ever been so nice to me. I’ve never experienced friendship before. Everybody picks on me. Until I came here, there wasn’t a day where I wasn’t beaten or spat at and called horrible things. Things about me… that are true..” I trailed off.

“No!” Jester shouted, as he gripped my shoulder firmly. “Armina, I will kill those who’ve hurt you! Whatever it is they tell you are a bunch of lies! I will drive my scythe into their skulls, pinning them to the floors and stomping on their throats until the heels of my shoes dig into their throats. I will watch as they slowly die being crushed under my boots, then send them all to hell!” He promised. He sounded so serious, his voice sounded so smooth yet stern and it was very deep. Not to mention he called me by my name instead of that cute pet name. His words were frightening. But to me it was music to my ears.

It warmed my heart to know that Jester will always be there for me no matter what. A small, very small smile was plastered onto my face and tears threatened to pour out. “You’re the best.” I whispered. He then pulled me into a loving hug. Wait, loving?

Seriously, what the hell is Jester doing to my emotions?! I don’t know what’s going on, I just met this guy and I’m getting weird feelings Sighing internally, I just accepted the hug. I feel as though I can tell him anything and trust him with all of my heart. I feel that being close to him makes me feel warm inside. I really can’t describe these feelings that I’ve never felt before.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***