Rise of a Queen

Chapter 47

"You got neither my innocence or his heart." I persisted strongly.

"On the contrary, my game has not yet reached its conclusion though the end is rapidly approaching. My time as this being is coming to a close. I cannot move on until my message is delivered and you made this last so much longer than I anticipated." The beast said under a glare, as if I were at fault for his long delayed departure, "Now that my message has been received, I can finally move on. My replacement is already well groomed."

I have heard this threat before and just as when it was first spoken, I rejected the idea that Dustin could become so vile. Dustin is many things and he may consider himself a monster, but I knew better than to let those superficial assumptions define him, "You won't succeed in making Dustin your apprentice, he will never be like you."

"Ahh ... but he will be very similar to me."

"Over my dead body."

"Exactly my point, stupid girl." Black smoke now emanated from every open orifice of his skinless body, rising high into the air where it seamlessly melted into the surrounding darkness. I wondered if that is how this world came to be and has since been sustained, by this creature, "What do you think happens to a man when the love of his life dies due to his own demons? You saw what became of him when his previous wretch died. I can only imagine the flavor his heart will acquire from something as tragic as this."

That is what I feared from the start. Whether it be my death, or Lumiere's, Corinth or Eli's; if any of us were lost, Dustin would not recover. None of us would recover. But how can I prevent such an outcome when I have already passed?

"Even now, after all this time, your thoughts continue to scorn." The beast tapped broken claws against his forehead, "You know, I was just like you once. It took a lifetime for me to realize what I was being prepped for. Only afterwards did I realize my calling and once it has been determined, it can not be changed. That is the way of our family. I did not want this either but once you bite, it is impossible to forget the taste."

His every word was increasingly perplexed and no matter how I tried, I could not find his logic,"Truly, I have no idea what you mean."

"You will. With time, you most certainly will. And you will become the messenger so that I don't have to. Honestly, who would have thought you of all people would be my successor?" He shrugged to himself, sweeping his arm in a grand gesture towards all that lay around us, "In the beginning, I was so proud to call this place mine. Now, I am tired. I will be happy to see you replace me. Change it however you wish, this is my own concoction but you can create the realm however you want it to be seen."

"You think ..." It was dawning on me that the beast wasn't after Dustin, and these interactions between the beast and myself were not entirely about retrieving hearts or playing games. The beast's intent, whatever it might be, was about me, "You think I am going to replace you?"

"The devil needs a lieutenant and if Dustin is that devil, I can think of no one better to serve at his side. You two will work so nicely together." The skeleton slumped lower in his position, letting his skull rest wearily against the leg of the throne, "Some of us have to suffer to keep the balance, to let the villains have their time in the moonlight. The mere fact that you are conversing with me proves how far you have come. Don't you remember when your delectable thoughts were your only way of communicating with me? Indeed this place has changed, rather drastically I would say. But you?" He laughed, "You have changed most of all."

I shook my head and the world around us trembled, "That can't be true, this is ridiculous. I am not your replacement, I died. I was stabbed and killed. Game over." The most important lesson I have learned, "What's dead should stay dead."