Chapter 3

Ray was woken up from Dirk removing his arm around her, and leaving the bed. She kept her eyes shut, and listened until she heard the click of the door. A few moments passed and she carefully lifted herself from under the sheets. She dressed herself swiftly, made the bed, then left the room, quiet as a mouse. Ray navigated her way to her own room, the sound of reapers collecting themselves echoing through the halls.

In the safety of her room once more, she put away her nightgown and prepared herself for the day. Once she had taken her medicine, she sat at her simple little desk by the bedside, and opened the drawer. She took out a small box, its contents clinking about. Wrapped in tissue, she put the gift in her thigh pouch, and left her room.

The guild was run amok as reapers hand-picked for the King mission gathered their things. Dirk and Beatrice each chose an even number of reapers to take with them, only the best in the guild. Everyone knew what their mission would entail, and the ones not going couldn’t help but feel jealous.

Ray, still half asleep, pushed her way through the bickering reapers and to Beatrice, who was debriefing her team. She waited patiently, not wanting to interrupt something important. Beatrice saw her and smiled, and finished her pep talk. The reapers bowed, their captain bowing back, and dispersed. They each held a train ticket, and it was clear that some had spiked up on coffee.

“Hey there,” Beatrice greeted Ray. She felt warm and fresh, her handsome smile glowing. “I’m surprised you’re up,” she teased.

Ray tried not to blush. “I wanted to see you off, who knows when you’ll be back.” She kept a straight posture, looking forward. “I also,” she said, digging into her pouch, “wanted to give you this.”

She handed her partner the gift, and Beatrice lightly unwrapped the paper. Her eyes widened with pleasure upon seeing the soul trinket, a deep purple with golden trimming. It had a secure latch and a fancy bulb on the top. It shined brightly, but not as brightly as Beatrice’s awed face.

“Is this,” Beatrice searched for words, “Did you make this?”

Ray nodded, still keeping a straight face. “I just finished it the other day and well, since you’re going on the King mission, and I can’t be with you, I…” she trailed off, turning away.

Beatrice carefully pulled Ray’s face back towards her, and looked at her with a warm grace. “It’s beautiful, thank you so much,” she said, leaning close.

Hidden behind her shades, Ray lidded her eyes, wanting to get even closer, to feel her better. But in the corner of her eye, she caught Dirk, and jerked herself away from the girl. Her partner turned her head, knowingly. Beatrice sighed deeply.

“Hey,” Beatrice said, pulling Ray’s attention back to her, “a few days without him, okay?”

Ray gave a sad smile. “Some proper rest,” she tried to joke, still glancing at Dirk from the other side of the room.

Beatrice waved the handmade soul trinket. “I promise to make great use of it, it’s wonderful, Ray.”

Ray looked at her. She wanted to go so, so badly with her. Her chest thumped, wanting to break open. She was just, so afraid, though. Afraid of something. Anxiety brewed inside, and her hand twitched.

Beatrice caught this, and took her hand gently. “It’s gonna be okay,” she told Ray softly.

“You’ll come back to me, right?” Ray asked.

“Of course I will.”

The moment was broken as ever loving Dirk came up to them, looking tall and stern. Ray stripped her hand away from Beatrice in an instant.

“It’s time to go, Beatrice,” Dirk said, keeping his eyes locked with hers.

“Right then,” the girl responded, then bowed to Ray. She gave a nasty look to Dirk then headed to the front doors of the guild, her team of reapers trailing behind.

Dirk did not move a step.

“Ramona,” he leaned in close to Ray, “take care of the place while I’m gone. I trust you.”

“I will,” was all she could muster.

He kissed her hand, bowed, then met with the rest of the reapers.

The main hall emptied, and Ray was back to her usual lonesome.

There was so much she wanted to say, to do with Beatrice. The King mission would be the most important mission of their lives, something they trained for every day to prepare. And yet, she still wasn’t ready for it. All the praise in the world from her brother was pointless if she couldn’t work past her weakness. In that moment, she truly felt that saving her was all those years ago was worthless.

“Don’t look so glum, Ramona,” a cold voice called. Ray turned to see Director Clementine arrive from the shadows.

“Director,” Ray straightened and bowed as Clementine met her.

“Stand tall, reaper,” Clementine ordered. “You missed your training yesterday.”

Ray cleared her throat, fixing her voice. “I was pardoned for the funeral.”

Clementine clicked her tongue. “You could have woken up earlier, you know this. Did the haunting at the library tire you?” She spoke very ill of her.

The reaper didn’t know how to respond. There was no excuse.

Clementine continued to chastise her. “It’s a shame, that you couldn’t go on this mission. I had high hopes for you.”

Ray swallowed.

The Director went on. “Beatrice now has to take your place. I trust she won’t disappoint me this time.”

Her heart thumped.

“Regardless,” Clementine said, “the morning is still young, let’s get you to work. I’ll see you in the training room in ten.”

“Ma’am, I haven’t had breakfast yet,” Ray tried not to stutter.

“Then eat quickly,” was all Clementine had for her.

#

Ray skipped her morning meal, she was used to it anyway. The training room was empty, as per the usual for when Ray did her exercises. She took her coat off and hung it up, leaving her scythe against the wall with it. She got started with her basic stretches, feeling the muscles in her body even out. It didn’t take long for Clementine to slither in, right on the dot. Ray stood and bowed in greeting.

There wasn’t much to be said between the two. Clementine held some papers and a pen. She nodded for the reaper to start.

The difference between the director and Beatrice was always staggering. With Beatrice, there was comfort and fertility. She was encouraging and helpful, always getting close and personal with Ray to ensure her safety and strength. With Clementine, it was like being watched by a presence unknown. A predator stalking it’s prey, waiting for the right time to strike. Any imperfect movement, and Ray was done for.

Ray was never one to read people well, but Clementine was impossible. She would glance up every once in a while to see the refined woman staring intently at the papers she held while occasionally writing something fierce down. Each time Ray looked, the more pressure she felt push down on her.

The reaper did a series of push ups and sits ups. Each pull making her more and more tired. She moved on to the punching bag, which Clementine timed her on. She was fast, faster than usual, and the sweat cascading down her face made her self-conscious. The whole time, Ray wished she could use phantasia.

Finally, Clementine set her paper and pen aside, and pulled out a training scythe from the wall. She handed Ray her’s and prepared an offensive stance.

The two fought in silence, with some other reapers peeking in through the main door. Ray tried to keep defense, but Clementine’s intense stare was inviting her to push more. Ray became more and more aware of the clanging sound as their scythes clashed, the scraping of metal getting into her head and piercing her ears like darts. After everything, her legs were giving out, the muscles tense and aching. Clementine did not care. This went on for what felt like ages.

The Director shoved her scythe at the reaper, making her stumble. Ray tried to catch herself, but her poor legs gave out and she slipped, falling hard on the ground. Clementine stood tall above her, the blade of her scythe just a hair short of Ray’s nose. Ray’s heart pounded, threatening to jump out of her chest. She was done.

“And this,” Clementine finally spoke, her voice deathly, “is why you weren’t chosen.” She pulled her scythe away and allowed Ray to get up.

The reaper knew better than to apologize.

“Disappointing, Ramona.” She put the training scythe back in it’s place and picked up her papers. She wrote down one last thing, before looking back over them. “It’s deplorable, really. I expected more from you than Beatrice, but it seems she’s more useful than I thought. I’ll find a use for you yet,” she turned to Ray.

“Ma’am, I-“

Clementine raised a hand. “I don’t want to hear it. She’s failed me more times than I can count, this is her last chance to impress me. If she fails, then it was her own fault.”

The King mission, Ray thought.

Ray held in a sigh. “Will that be all, ma’am?”

Clementine clicked her tongue. “I suppose so. Off with you, now,” she waved her away.

Ray collected her coat and strode past the pesky reapers in the doorway. They all carelessly scattered, trying to avoid any eye contact with both Ray and Clementine. Ray pushed up her glasses, hiding her annoyance. In the end, she was nothing more than a disappointment, to her leader, her guild, and most especially, herself.