'Knock, knock'
"Who is it?" said a voice from inside the cabin.
"It's me Clara.", replied a polite voice.
"Hmm? C'mon in.", he said.
It was like a run-down, small rented office. The lady just politely bowed and took a seat.
"Say, Clara, what's up?" his face popped out from the big stacks of piled-up papers.
"Bob, why did you send Louisa to mortal realm?" suddenly her voice turned into a commanding complaint. "Huh? You see, she wanted to see Janice and Noah and everything down there…" he quickly got up and started explaining.
Stammering and blabbering all the nonsense he could think of, while Clara just sat there with a cold look in her eyes. After some time she rolled her eyes and said,
"That's none of my business Bob. But I never gave you permission to release a prisoner, did I?" she questioned with a hint of anger in her sentences. Sitting there with calm composure and asking and scolding Bob, the grim reaper in his own office, she was none other than, Head of Reapers.
"Umm, no…" he said as he looked at the ground fidgeting his fingers.
She got up and walked towards him.
Bob almost was drenched in his cold sweat as he kept staring at the floor.
"You obviously didn't release her by mistake. You did it on purpose. Why? I am here for the reason Bob." She calmly stood in front of him.
Bob was definitely feeling guilty as he was constantly fidgeting his fingers. Clara waited patiently as she stared at his face. And then after a couple of minutes gave out a long sigh. Bob flinched and looked up.
"Bob I know that Louisa is your daughter and I also heard that you helped Noah and Janice go back to their lives as duke and duchess. But don't you know that they were reincarnated into the modern world to live out each of their curses. Why did you do it?" she politely and calmly explained as she was worried.
"Um.. because Louisa told me to do so." He whispered in a low volume.
Again there was silence in the room and Bob could clearly tell that Clara was getting angry.
"You are not her father anymore Bob. You are a reaper and you have your timeline and punishments to pay back for." She yelled at him with her loudest voice.
"Everything is simply getting Chaotic in here." She mumbled as she massaged the sides of her forehead.
"Anyways soon Janice will slowly remember everything from the fragments of her memory and I am sure Noah will too." She said and suddenly Bob unconsciously flinched again.
Clara observed it and asked," What did you do to Noah's memory?" with an anxious expression. "I am sorry, Clara, please forgive me." He said as he was trembling.
"Are you a fool?" she yelled on the top of her voice. "Don't tell me you erased Noah's past life memory as a duke?"
Bob nodded there as he was trembling in fear.
"Listen to me once carefully Bob. This is a crime and I can see that you completely followed what Louisa told you. This trap is going to kill you soon." She said with an expression of extreme irritation in her eyes.
And suddenly someone stabbed her in the back.
"Aah." She screamed as though the pain was clenching her heart and everything was getting squeezed out.
"You are bull shit and you made me wait for 500 years you bitch." Said a cruel voice.
"What are you doing Louisa. She is the head of the reapers and can't get killed…" as Bob was going to complete his sentence, Clara fell down in front of him.
"What? How?" he was himself puzzled as he looked at the body of the strongest reaper lying in front of him dead.
And suddenly the walls of his tiny office echoed with the cruel and banging laughs of Louisa Dina.
"Hahahahah, finally I did it father and I killed the head of the reapers with my spell breaking dagger. I am a genius. After 500 hundred years of countless moments of agony, I finally was able to make this dagger I am really a genius." She was up in the sky boasting in front of her father who stood there plainly.
"You sure are." Said Bob with a smirk.
"Right, I know." She was bursting with pride. "But are you sure you killed me.", and suddenly Bob's voice turned into Clara's. Louisa stood there with shocked eyes and the dagger fell down from her hands as she swiftly saw down only to find her dad lying in the pool of blood.
"How many times should I tell you reapers don't die. Also, you are just becoming stupid day by day. You should give up on killing me." Said Clara with a bored expression as she was least interested and helped Bob get up as the blood disappeared in thin air.
"Tsk, Clara. You are no fun. You know that right?" said Louisa who sat down on the chair and checked out her nails.
"But you will face a punishment, Louisa." Said Clara. "Yes, c'mon say it. Say it." Said Louisa with a crooked and excited smile.
"You have to go and live on earth and pay for your punishment as Louisa Dina the Countess.", Declared Clara with the least amount of interest. "Finally I got your permission to go on earth." She screamed with excitement.
"But you will go into the time period after the marriage of Noah Gilbert." Said Clara with a smirk.
"What you bitch?" all her excitement went away and suddenly her face was showing all expression of an annoyed person. "What? I did as you said." Said Clara with a cunning smirk as she snapped and send Louisa away.
"Why are you taking it out in her?" asked Bob who stood behind Clara. She looked at him with a look of doubt but then sighed and said,
"Louisa has committed enough crimes in her last life as a witch, and thus she was punished for 500 years. But anyways her time was up and she had to reincarnate anyways." She said as shrugged her shoulders and started walking towards the door.
"Are you finally forgiving Louisa and taking her side?" asked Bob naively. "You are too naïve Bob, She killed my niece. I am just setting a counter trap to make her live the time that will constantly keep killing her inside." She said with a light smile.
"I send her to the time that is currently flowing for Janice and Noah. That means that is the time after they were killed. I gave them extra lives. For I want to destroy Louisa, Bob." She said with an evil look and left the room.
"Wow, she really is cruel." Said Bob as he stretched his shoulders.
"Well anyway, I don't care what happens to Louisa. She isn't my daughter after all." He said as he giggled and sat down.
Back on earth, Janice fainted and made all the servants feel pressured. It was evening still and it was time for Noah to return to the mansion.
"What should we do? She has been like this for quite a long time?" asked one maid to the other. "Let's wait and see. Also, the doctor said that we don't need to worry so.." shrugged another woman. "Everyone get back to work. Only the head lady-in-waiting will stay here." Announced the butler as he clapped his hands and send everyone back to their chores.
The night was falling and it was getting darker outside. Janice showed no signs of waking up, but to the servants' surprise, even Noah didn't return on time. "My, the duchess' destiny is really cruel. The duke doesn't seem to love her at all." Whispered a maid.
"I heard that she was engaged to the crown prince first but she clung onto the duke. Some even say that the duke's father already had some other girl in mind. But the current duchess came in and became a villainess in the story." She continued.
"What? Then why didn't Duke Noah opposed Duchess Janice and went ahead with the marriage?" asked the other maid who was in full mood to gossip. "That's where the story gets fabricated and each man has his own version of the story. After all, rumors are cruel but can also be true." Replied the first maid.
The butler was overhearing everything and glared at both the maids with a stinging glare. They quickly ran off to their work.
"Janice…." He mumbled. "She won't definitely do something like that. She was forced too I know." he thought to himself as his eyebrows furrowed with worry.
"I, Eugene will save her if she isn't happy with her marriage." He said as he took off his glass and smirked. "I know her better than anyone else. I am her childhood love and she is mine too." He again wore back his glasses and went to work.
It was almost midnight and still, Noah didn't return also Janice was still deep in her slumber.
"What kind of man is the duke? He didn't come home even when we send him the message that the duchess collapsed and is sick. Guess he really doesn't love her and everything about them having a love affair is fake." Scoffed Eugene as he thought to himself.
"Anyways let me get cold water and cloth to keep on Janice's forehead. After all, I am the butler and I should take care of her." Thinking so he went to the parlor on the second floor. The entire front lobby was empty as everyone returned to their servant chambers.
And suddenly the door of the mansion was opened with a bang. "Welcome home your highness." Bowed the two guards who were the only two up and guarding the front door.
He walked, climbed the stairs, and went straight to Janice's room.
It was dark with only a few candles lighted. The room wasn't locked so he entered in and locked it from inside.
He trudged towards her bed and called her, " Janice." He calmly pushed her a little to wake her up.
But she didn't get up. He started to get impatient and jerked her a bit more.
"Hey, Janice Green wake up." He said as his voice grew weaker. "I am sorry." He mumbled to himself and fell on the bed as he was drunk to his maximum level.
"I am sorry I never got to listen to your side of the story, Janice. But now I'll listen to it and make you fall in love with me." He mumbled and dozed off.
The things were getting scattered like the pieces of a long-ignored puzzled. Or were they getting back together?