"This must be the place," I looked up at the dark building in front of me before double-checking the address in my hand.
Out of all places, why somewhere like this? It smelled vile just from the sidewalk. They couldn't have chosen anywhere better, could they?
Well, it wasn't like I had a choice. Damn it, I just had to get it over with and I'd be home in no time.
I took a deep breath and stepped into the small shop. The bell chimed at my arrival and I looked around, but it was... Empty?
"Hello?"
The door closed behind me, and while my voice echoed, no answer welcomed me. Was this really right? Were they closed?
The small funeral parlor had a musk to the thick air. Black candles flickered a delicate dancing flame against the walls, but they were otherwise an unattended fire hazard.
My bag strap slipped off my arm and I plopped it beside me to the address written on my notepad one last time.
Nope, this was... Definitely the place.
"Hello? Anyone home?" I tried once more.
Seriously, if he wasn't even going to be here, I could go back home, right?
... Right?
Of course, it wasn't my fault if he wasn't here, they couldn't blame me for that!
Suddenly, a quiet creak pulled my attention to a tall casket propped against the wall.
Without warning, the lid began to slip and long, pale fingers slowly emerged.
I released a short scream and fell back. No way, I couldn't do it! I wasn't going to face zombies, no way in hell!
When the lid fell though, the stranger inside grinned brightly.
Oh... He looked... Decently human.
Wait, he was just a human!
"Sc-Screw you for that!" I began yelling before he got a word in, "Do you just hang out in ugly coffins all day waiting to scare people?! I should leave right now just for that!"
The man cocked his head with curiosity, allowing his long tendrils of silver hair to flow around him like a delicate ghost. As his bangs shifted, a deep scar across his face flashed an appearance.
This was the guy, wasn't it?
What did they call him again?
The...
Crap, I forgot his name, I wasn't listening when I was being told the details.
After a moment to consider what I said, the stranger chuckled under his breath as he hobbled out,
"So soon? But you just got here," His voice was scratchy, but rather playful as his dark robes dragged out below his feet.
The stranger reminded me of a priest perhaps, which wasn't that surprising considering the place we were in.
No (Y/N), you couldn't just run off from a short scare, you wouldn't let them win that easily.
With a shaky hand, I picked up my bag once again to face him,
"I'm (Y/N), I was sent here to inquire about an internship of about three weeks."
Where was it? The man waited at the counter patiently, hands folded as I fumbled around my bag before finally finding the letter and holding it out.
"My parents said they were old friends of yours and you would be willing to give me a job."
"Oh really now?" With curiosity piqued, he took the letter and unfolded it. The shop fell silent as he read, but his grin grew ever wider, "Oh my, now this sounds exciting! I haven't seen their names in so long. And what's this? They say you're the rebellious type, do they?"
"I am not," God damn it, did they really write something like that down? What else did they say about me?! "Look, the situation is that I'm engaged in an arranged marriage. The guy is a complete pig and they won't get it through their heads that forcing dinner parties every week isn't going to make me suddenly get along with him."
"Oh yes, it does mention that, doesn't it?" The man didn't even look at me as he put his feet up to keep reading, "They want you straightened out before your wedding too. This is quite the rare situation for a noblewoman like yourself. What are you, eighteen?"
"Nineteen,"
Most girls my age were already wed, but with my resistance so far, they had to put it off another year. I didn't care about something like that at all though, let their reputation take a hit!
After a long moment to read my parent's letter, he finally turned back to face me, a devilish gleam on his lips that showed off a row of sharpened teeth,
"This is rather unconventional, but it sure sounds like fun!"
"It's not supposed to be fun," I felt a nervous tremble run down my spine, "It's just another attempt at their attempt to break my spirit, and it's not going to work. Just tell them you refuse and I can go home."
The stranger pulled himself back up, his long hair falling over his shoulders as he leaned over the counter. I could smell a strange, damp scent off his clothes the closer he got, but held my ground. Was this a staring contest? How idiotic.
"And why..." The man cocked his head, "Why would I do that? A little noblewoman like yourself in a shop like this, asking me for a job. Are you as stubborn as they say you are? Oh, I can't wait to see!"
"You're not seriously agreeing to this?!"
Was he insane?! Was everyone insane?!
My parents sent me to a mortician for a job, and he actually accepted! Has the whole world gone completely mad? This can't actually be happening, I'm a noble, aren't I?!
I must've been zoned out from the news, because I didn't notice the stranger grabbed my hands until his slender palms were grasped over my fingers,
"You must already know, but how about some introductions? I'm your new boss for a while! They call me The Undertaker! Who are they? No idea!"
The man's grip was tight, and his welcoming handshake was even more aggressive. I thought I was going to fall over before he finally let go, urging me to pull my arms back quickly,
"(Y/N)," I soon found my words once more, "And don't touch me, commoners don't shake hands with nobles."
"Of course," The Undertaker agreed, but sounded more sarcastic than I felt. Was I imagining that tone just now or... "Well if you're going to be working here, let me show you around! Wouldn't want a little canary like yourself to fumble around."
"Just show me the basics, as minimal as possible."
Whatever weird stuff was in here, I didn't care. The less the better, I wouldn't be walking in here again.
"Oh, don't you know what they say about minimalism?"
The mortician cast a short glance back, urging me to raise an eyebrow,
"No, what?"
The weird guy giggled to himself for a moment,
"Well, it's the least you can do."
That... Was a really shitty joke. He laughed about his own comment before he picked a book off a back table, half covered with some sewing fabric,
"Here we are! I never need to use this anyway, but someone like you..."
Really, a book? No, wait-
An obituary, that actually would be pretty helpful in a place like this.
As I took it, my fingers touched his own, and my skin crawled. God, he was such a creep, just an accidental brush made me uncomfortable. What was with this guy?
Nevertheless, I tried to shake it off and flip it open.
"Now, this here has the names of everyone in the shop right now," When the Undertaker tapped a finger to the page I was on, his long, black nail scraped along the paper, "They're marked how they'd been prepared already, ain't that useful? I did all the hard work for you."
I flipped the pages to find everyone was alphabetically by last name, and they all had a status mark on them. In processing, partial embalming, full embalming, and completed.
God, it was making my head hurt just to look at all these names. He better not expect me to actually remember any of this. I'd be using this as a cheating guide, not a study book.
When I was satisfied, I swiftly shut it and flashed The Undertaker a short glare,
"Yes, that'll be useful. What else? Let's get this over with so I can actually do some work and get home. I don't have all day to screw around like the lower class do."
The man's gleam shifted to a frown, and it appeared like he wanted to say something, but kept restraint,
"This way,"
He waved to follow and started off once more.
I set the book down and examined the shop as we walked. It was even more cramped the farther in we went. The walls were coated in various fabrics and different coffins lined up carelessly. There was no question The Undertaker wasn't expecting my arrival. My parents didn't tell him jack, did they? Just another person getting screwed over by their horrible decisions.
Along the way, a glisten caught my eye and I stopped to see what it had been.
Although behind some fabric, the sharp point of a weapon made itself clear.
What the hell... Was this lunatic armed?
I broke away from following to move to the wall and get a better look.
The metallic shine urged me to pull the fabric aside.
The sharp point slowly started to expand into a large blade before suddenly, they were yanked back into place and The Undertaker was holding a hand against the wall over the item.
"Snooping is unbecoming of a noblewoman. Let's get back on track, shall we?"
"If you're armed, you're required to tell me," I pushed back, "I refuse to work beside someone with a weapon."
"Mere decoration," The man waved it off swiftly, "Wasn't it you that wanted the quick tour? Come along now."
Damn it... This was just getting more unnerving. How did my parents know this guy again?
With one final look to the peeking blade, I pulled myself away to continue following his path. I wouldn't forget about this, just wait, I'd see it soon.
"Now tell me," The Undertaker chirped up once more as though it never happened, "What's this about a wedding? Who's this arranged fiance of yours?"
What was this, an interrogation?
"That's not any of your business. I didn't come here to unload my private life."
"Now now, I'm merely making conversation to learn about my new employee," The man giggled softly as he opened a door, "I keep all the corpses in the basement here. Embalming is rather smelly so keep the door closed when you work."
With a wave of his hand, the mortician encouraged the scent to waft into the main floor, but even as I took a deep inhale, I couldn't smell a thing.
Yet, he exhaled in satisfaction,
"Oh yes, the highest quality of products. All the bodies are preserved. It would be quite a problem if the entire street smelled of death. Why, I'd get Scottland Yard at my door every other day!"
Huh... While I wouldn't admit it, I was quite impressed. Making a room full of corpses smell like nothing probably wasn't an easy task. That made things nicer at least, I wouldn't be smelling decay for three weeks. I was in no hurry to run down there anyway.
"One more place to show you,"
The Undertaker suddenly shut the door, causing it to slam as he grinned. Wow, really? Only three things, maybe this would be easier than I thought!
Before I knew it though, I was looking at a broom closet and a feather duster was in my hands.
"You're kidding me, right?"
"Work is work," A tease melted through his voice, "Now come along, you can spend the rest of the day cleaning. I hardly have time to do it myself when so many people are dying to see me."
No amount of jokes would make this okay!
"I'm a noble!" I refuted with a snap, "I don't do dusting!"
"Ah~" In response to my argument, The Undertaker rubbed his chin in thought before he smiled, "You see, I don't really care. I'm your boss now, aren't I?"
So he was going to pull that, wasn't he? It was a useless argument when I didn't even want to be here. Suddenly, I had a flicker of an idea. How didn't I think of it before? If I got him to fire me on the first day, I wouldn't have to do a thing!
For the first time, I returned a grin as I offered the duster back,
"Oh, you have it all wrong. I'm only here to appease my parents. I never agreed to get dirty. So I guess you can just send me home and fire me now. Oh well, worth a try, better luck next time, huh? Don't worry, you did your best."
That should do it, now just to hear those special words that let me leave and never come back to a place like this.
But for a long minute, The Undertaker didn't speak. In fact, he barely moved at all, like a statue.
What the hell? Just say I can go home!
When the man finally returned to life, he reached out and wrapped his hand around the duster.
Instead of taking it, the item was pushed back towards me with a hint of aggressive force. His playful expression didn't change for a moment despite his powerful strength in the push,
"Why on Earth would I send you home, little canary? I wouldn't be a very good boss if I gave up before the first day was over. Go dust the front, and be thorough. I won't let you leave until it's dust-free. Run along now~"
No... No way... It didn't work, and I had to do all that? This damned man really was crazy!
"This is hell, you know that!?" I made sure to get the final word in and stomp with every step back to the lobby. Ridiculous!
I can't believe I had to dust this disgusting place. Who cared if it was clean?
The worst part was I couldn't even walk out! If I went home on my own and my parents found out I was never denied, I'd get in even more trouble!
This was it, the entire world was out to get me!
As much I tried to channel my anger through the dusting, I could only do so much with a stick of feathers to show how angry I was. The guy probably wasn't even watching.
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be wonderful,"
The man sneered to my parents before casting his attention to me sitting beside him,
"(Y/N) and I will have the most perfect wedding, and give you children before long."
Although he reached out to set his hand atop mine, I yanked away before he had the chance to touch me.
I saw my fiance's eyes darken, but he quickly covered it with a forced smile as he looked back to my parents,
"Well, I understand (Y/N) is still nervous about everything, don't take it out on her, alright?"
"That's okay," My mother chuckled, "She's always been the stubborn one. As long as your duties are completed, a marriage doesn't really need to include love, now does it?"
Damned woman, talking about me like I wasn't even there. My fiance nodded,
"You're quite right, madame. A firey attitude, but she's certainly good at doing what she's told when it comes down to it. She'll be perfect to birth an heir to our families."
"Oh piss off," I finally snapped, earning a gasp from the two.
My father slammed his cup down,
"(Y/N)! Show some respect, we chose Nicholas and you're going to suck it up! We don't ask much of you, the least you can do is unite our families and have a child, it's expected of every young woman."
A bubbling rage pooled into my stomach, but all my anger remained contained when I pulled myself up from the table,
"Mother, father..." I cast a glance to my fiance, "Pigshit. I think I'm done here for tonight."
I started off, only stopping when I heard a chair scrape against the ground and was meeting the eyes of the man I would be wed to,
"You can't keep running away," He warned, "I don't care you hate me, but running off every time we meet isn't mature of you. I was kind enough to wait until we were wed to conceive an heir but if this is all I get, perhaps we should do it now and get it out of the way."
"You-!"
Rage flipped to shame and I looked to my parents,
"Are you hearing this?! We're not even wed and he already wants my uterus!"
"He is trying to help you, (Y/N)!" My father was the first to speak, "You're always so pissed off, you can't see two feet in front of your own eyes!"
My mother began to tear up at the fight, quickly catching everyone to look her way and my father to pat her back,
"Now look what you've done," He scolded my way.
My mother waved it off, shaking some sobs before looking up once more,
"What did I do for such a cruel, selfish daughter? I did everything right, I married the man they told me, and had a child as was asked of me, and the gods cursed me with you. Now we have to consider coitus before marriage just to be sure you'll follow your duties."
"Are you all out of your minds?!" I wasn't the bad guy here, there was no way I was! It was everyone else who was completely deranged!
My father didn't answer me, and by the time he was ready to speak, his attention was on Nicolas,
"The wedding is in a few weeks, it might be time to consider the options."
"Of course, sir. I can stay here for the night," He grinned with a bow.
No... No way, this was not about to happen, not on my life!
I was seeing red by the time I stormed up to the table and picked up the precious family tea pot. Before he had a chance to avoid it, I pulled the top off and threw everything I could on my fiance's suit.
The scalding tea made him start yelling in pain, and while servants were running to his aide, my parents jumped up to rush at me.
I sighed, checking the work I had completed... Not bad. I finally shook the feather-duster of any loose dust and turned back to the counter to see The Undertaker watching me intently. Weirdo.
"I'm done, I want to go home now."
"Hm...~" The Mortician looked around to check my work before he clasped his hands on the counter, "It's not bad, I accept it. Go ahead, run along now. Be here around 9' tomorrow, there's some special work to take care of."
Yeah, whatever, as long as I could get out of here today.
I dropped off the duster at the counter and left the store as fast as I could to see the carriage already at the doors, the sun going down behind the wagon.
Great, they were picking me up anyway... How long were they waiting here?
The coachman shortly nodded a greeting and allowed me to climb inside and collapse on the seat.
Now that I was finally going home, I realized... I didn't really want to be at home. He would probably be there, kissing up to my parents and conspiring against me. At least I could lock myself in my room and not look at his idiot face.
I exhaled a sigh and leaned against the carriage wall to look out to the streets. The commoners were smiling and happy, greeting each other with waves and welcomes. How lucky they were, embracing each other without force.
It was only because we were born around the same time, they chose my fiance out of convenience, nothing more. It wasn't like I haven't tried, I tried my entire youth to accept him, but he was just so... So... He pissed me off!
My home came into view and the gates were opened by the staff to allow entry. Almost as soon as the carriage came to a stop, I was stumbling out the door to run inside. The faster I got to my room, the less I would risk running into that-!
"(Y/N)!" My mother's call from the main hall welcomed me brightly. God damn it... At least it wasn't Nicolas.
I mustered the best smile I could and accepted her arms wrapping around me, "Oh my darling little girl, how did it go? You were gone for so long, I got worried. He accepted you, right?"
"Yeah..."
What was this sweet tone? She never sounded like this. As uncomfortable as the hug was, I resisted pulling away as she continued to talk,
"That's wonderful, I knew he would. A job like this should straighten you out perfectly before the wedding. Oh, I'm so excited."
God damn it, this again?!
I wiggled her arms off me with a bit of force to meet my mother's eyes,
"Mother, how do you know this guy? How are you acquainted with a mortician like this?"
"I told you, didn't I?" Her eyes flashed a puzzled stare, "A family friend."
That's not what I-
I sighed it off as I shook my head,
"That's not what I mean, how is he a family friend? Do you have any idea how weird he is? How is a guy like that connected to our noble blood?"
"Oh, I..." She appeared like she wanted to answer, but she couldn't find the words. Her eyebrows furrowed, before a flash of realization hit her, "I suppose he was a friend of my own mother's? They met when she was young... That's it."
No, that... Couldn't be right. He looked older than me, but still had that youthful glow to him. There was no way he was that old.
"Are you sure you're thinking of the same guy?" I had to push, "This guy would be an elder by now. He was young."
"Yes, I'm... I'm pretty sure?"
Her words didn't match her attitude, which was now confused and thoughtful. She didn't have a good answer for me, now seeming more confused than I was.
"(Y/N),"
The interruption of an asshole voice sliced through our conversation. My mother smiled quickly, but my eyes snapped a glare to the pigshit walking towards us, his posture uptight and a fake gleam of welcome,
"You're finally home," He continued, "I was so worried about you, I just had to wait the whole time."
"Oh, Nicolas," My mother beamed joy towards his sappy words, "Such a kind man, my daughter is lucky to have someone like you looking out for her."
I wasn't doing this right now, I already had a shitty day. I pushed past him, shoving the nobleman with my shoulder as roughly as I could, but his footsteps followed behind. What was this guy's deal?!
I stopped to face him,
"I'm going to my room. Go home, nobody wants you here. Come back on my emotional death day."
For half a moment, Nicolas looked confused before he realized what I was saying,
"Oh, you mean our wedding! Well, your parents and I were talking, and we came to an agreement that conceiving an heir should be done as soon as possible. Please, let me walk you to your room."
"Bite me," That was all I could say to that. If I said what was really on my mind, the gods would've fainted in shock! "You're not touching me until our wedding day when I'm required to accept it. And after that, perhaps I'll run away and join the circus."
"(Y/N) it's not a big deal," My mother interjected with exasperation, "Every young woman your age has these expectations. We'll stop pestering you after you just get it over with. Honestly, I didn't raise you to be so immature."
"And out of all those women, I'm the one engaged to a rat," As my eyes locked with Nicolas', his fake smile darkened to a silent rage, only for my eyes to see. That was it, that quiet fury under his persona. The one he tried so hard to hide, but I knew all about it, didn't I? "If you follow me to my room, I'm going to personally run a fork through your lung."
He tried to interject when I started to move away, but stopped himself when I offered a foul hand gesture.
With that, I was no longer followed, but as soon as I entered my room, I collapsed into my bed and let myself scream into my pillow.
Screw them all! Why was this happening to me?!