Sugar, Spice and a pinch of Fantasy

Chapter 41

--------- Chapter 41 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

               “Why did you come?” Haden moans for the umpteenth time. One of his servants is dressing him, and I decided that I didn’t dare sit in the room I was offered alone, so I came here instead. Haden was in his boxers for the longest time. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. That boy has the most beautiful body. Ever. Period!

               “I’m tired of being...me. It’s time I stood up for myself. And I didn’t want you to have to do this on your own. I mean, I kind of am the reason that you were...sent away,” I mumble quietly.

Haden gives me a small smile as his servant crouches down to fix his pants. I’m assuming he did quite a bit of growing since he was last here.

               “So this is your room, huh?” I murmur to change the topic.

               “Decadent, no?” he teases.

               “Hell yeah! I always wondered why every mansion we lived in had to be so...over the top! But I guess to you...they weren’t really all that grand, huh?” I muse.

               “Yeah. This was my home for the longest time. Everything I know, well almost anyway, was learnt here. My tutors were amazing. But I learnt more whenever I snuck out of the castle. I hated it here...for the most part,” he admits, shrugging.

               “Why? It’s amazing! It’s the life everyone dreams of!” I challenge. He’s basically a prince. Who wouldn’t kill for that?

               “Sure it’s luxurious and all. But there’s no personal touch to anything. It’s a castle, but barely a home. I always felt trapped, like I wasn’t allowed to exert my free will. That’s why I snuck out so much. I longed to be normal, to be able to play with the other boys without my father investigating what their lineage was. He deemed almost everyone unworthy of my time. It was lonely Jess. So when I became a reaper, I finally had a measure of control. I was allowed to leave Persephone...and...” he trails off, looking uncomfortable.

               “And what Haden?” I encourage.

               “Being a reaper is hard, Jess. The only certainty in my everyday life was someone’s death. It’s a downer, to put things lightly,” he mumbles, looking sad again.

I wrap my arms around his waist. I don’t know what to say...how can I say anything? Obviously there isn’t anything positive to say about him being a reaper. Yeah, he’s doing his duty and stuff, but...he’s basically killing people, isn’t he?

He kisses the top of my head tenderly, giving me a hug back.

               “I wish I had met you when we were younger,” he mumbles wistfully.

               “Dude! What are you talking about? We’ve known each other since I was 12!” I correct him.

               “Yeah, but...I mean, I wish you grew up here too. I think I would have snuck out to see you so often...” he trails off his warm breath tickling my ears making me shudder in excitement.

I tip toe so my lips meet his surprised one. In a matter of moments, he’s all lust. He kisses me passionately making me moan slightly. Damn! He’s a bloody good kisser! When we pull apart, I’m breathing heavily. Haden winks at me, grinning at my reaction.

               “Haden, what’s a death dealer?” I ask tentatively.

               “Okay, umm...you see, a reaper escorts the soul of the departed to my father’s dominion. Usual reapers don’t actually...throw the final hit, you know? That’s the death dealers job. Usually a death dealer and a reaper would be partners, because neither could work without the other. Without the death dealer, the reaper wouldn’t be able to land that hit or whatever to kill the person. And without the reaper, the death dealers power remains locked,” he explains quietly.