Shiuli was in the shower when she heard the thunderstorm outside. Usually, she wouldn't be too bothered by it, but today it was different. Something was off and she could sense it. But what exactly? She couldn't put a finger on it.
As she wrapped herself in her bathrobe, she stepped out into the room she now shared with Death. It was late at night and Death was in the living room reading a book. Shiuli quickly entered the closet and put on her silk pajamas, she then dried her hair and completed her skincare routine. Once she was ready for bed, she walked out towards the living room.
"Hey there," Shiuli smiled at Death who was sitting on the couch, reading his book, "It's time for bed."
Death looked up and caught Shiuli leaning against the wall right in front of their bedroom. He felt nervous and excited at the same time, knowing he would be living with Shiuli from now on.
"I don't sleep." Death smiled back at her, "But I shall give you company till you fall asleep."
Death got up, placed the book back on the shelf, and entered the bedroom with Shiuli. His heart was beating crazy and his mind stopped working for some time. As Shiuli lay down and tucked herself under the covers, she patted the empty side of the bed next to her, urging her man to lie down with her.
"Are you not going to change into your pajamas? I want to see you in something, anything other than your black business suits!" Shiuli complained.
"I've never had the need to wear pajamas before, but if you want, we can go shopping tomorrow and buy a few clothes for me that you'd like."
"Oh my god! Yes! We need to give your closet a makeover! When I look at your side of the closet, all I see are rows and rows of identical business suits!"
"As you wish, my angel."
Making Shiuli shut up with that endearment, Death slowly slipped under the covers and turned towards her. She looked at him with love and affection, something he thought he would never get used to. He then reached out to her and pulled her into him. Her arms wrapped around his waist as she hid her face in his chest. Death smiled blissfully as he tucked Shiuli's head under his chin and felt her cozy up to him. He hummed at how good it felt to cuddle with her like this.
"Death?"
"Yes, baby?"
"Do you think we will be okay?"
Death moved away from her a little so he could take a look at her face. Shiuli's voice had a melancholic tone to it that he didn't like at all. Honestly, even he didn't have the answer to the question she had just asked him. Will they really be okay? They had no certain way of knowing this. This is exactly why he needed Love, Faith, and Time with him right now. He was worried about Shiuli and him, but more than that, he was worried about Amisha and her safety. Shiuli had revealed to him that Life had seen her and knew about her relationship with Shiuli. Even though he did not want to think of his own brother as such a monster, he knew what Life was capable of.
Placing a small kiss of reassurance on her forehead, Death tucked her back into him. He then released a deep breath and prayed to the universe to protect them.
"We have some of the wisest, most powerful creatures by our side. We will be okay." Death said.
"I want to believe you but something feels off," Shiuli snuggled closer to Death, "There's this weird sinking feeling…"
"Hey, we will be okay, trust me."
As Shiuli closed her eyes, she thought about Amisha, her parents, and everyone she had left behind. She felt scared and nervous, but being in Death's embrace, she also felt powerful and ready to face whatever was coming for them. As she let Death's arms calm her raging thoughts down, she slowly drifted off to sleep.
Death felt Shiuli's breathing even out and he waited till he knew she was in a deep sleep. She was now snoring lightly, which he thought was super adorable. He moved away from her, making sure that he wasn't waking her up. As he slipped away from her hold, he got out of the bed and walked out towards the living room.
"I need to do something to protect Amisha, if something happens to her, Shiuli will never forgive me." Death whispered out loud to himself.
He wanted to go to Time and ask him to help them out, but he knew he had to wait until he was back with Love and Faith. Feeling anxious, Death decided to take matters into his own hands… he decided to go check on Amisha himself.
***
Amisha woke up with a jolt as she awoke with a sharp sting on her left cheek. She blinked twice as someone threw a glass of water at her face.
Panic taking hold of her nerves, Amisha was unable to move as she slowly opened her eyes which took some time to adjust to the bright lights around her. Every joint in her body hurt and the cheek that had been stinging made her realize that somebody had just slapped her real hard.
"It is time you woke up!" screamed a shrill female voice next to her.
Amisha looked around her. She was on a plane! And this wasn't any other plane, it looked like it was a private jet. Bile rose to her throat as she suppressed the urge to cry. She had no idea what the hell was happening and why she was on a plane with her hands and legs bound together.
The woman who had just spoken to her was not in her line of sight. She had spoken from behind her and Amisha did not have enough energy left in her to turn around and take a look at who had done this to her. The last thing she remembered…she had to remember something!
Scared to the point of going mute, Amisha's eyes widened in shock when she realized how she got there! The French man!
"I've never come across a hostage before who doesn't scream for their life when they finally realize we've kidnapped them!" the same woman behind her spoke.
"Is that why you did not shut her mouth up? So that you could get off on her screams?" asked a man amused.
Amisha immediately recognized the male voice. It was the French man! Amisha was almost home when she realized that somebody was following her! Her gut was right, something was wrong and she should have made a run for home! But it was too late. The man had sneakily gotten close to her in the pretense of asking her an address and once she was close enough to him, he had injected her with something that made her lose consciousness. That is why she was here! She had been kidnapped!
"Why?" Amisha sobbed as she tried her best to push the word out of her mouth. Her mouth felt dry and her throat felt like it was being rubbed by sandpaper each time she tried to utter anything.
Feeling dizzy from all the extreme feelings she was feeling all at once, Amisha passed out yet again. The lady in the background laughed looking at the state their hostage was in.
"She seems quite rattled!" the woman laughed.
"Let's take her to the boss as quickly as possible. He is worried that the other creatures might find out what we have done."
"If this isn't the human girl Death has fallen in love with, then who is she? Why are we taking her to Life?"
"Boss said something about humans being sentimental," the French man scoffed, "I really don't care what he wants. As long as I can do what he says, I'll be okay."
***
Life was waiting in his luxury hotel room in Paris. He was soaking in the bathtub with lavender bath bombs making the magic happen. He had lit up lavender-scented candles too. He enjoyed pampering himself with self-care every now and then, especially since he thought none of the creatures really genuinely cared about him. And well, he didn't care about them either. Even though bound by my kinship, Life always felt nothing towards anyone. Yes, he was a narcissist and an egomaniac, but was it really that wrong to love yourself more than others? To be selfish and put yourself first?
Life slowly submerged himself completely into the bathtub. He stayed there holding his breath for a minute before he came up and grabbed the glass of red wine placed next to him. Swirling the liquid in the glass, he slowly brought it to his lips and took a sip. He loved being extra like this, especially when he was awaiting a very important guest.
Amisha… that was the name of Shiuli's friend he had met the other day when both the human girls had insulted him. Life hated humans. They always thought very highly of themselves even when they were mere mortals! How dare they insult a creature of the universe? But they would pay for this mistake. While Shiuli had already sealed her fate by falling in love with Death, Amisha's fault was that she was associated with them. That she was Shiuli Basu's best friend and she could be used as a pawn to get to her best friend and her lover.
Smirking as all these thoughts formed in his head, Life almost missed his phone ringing next to him. Wiping his wet hands in a hand towel nearby, Life answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello, boss. My wife and I have secured the package and are on our way to deliver it to you."
"Package?" Life laughed out loud at his human assistant's shenanigans, "You do not have to be so discreet about the kidnapping. You literally work for the most powerful creature there is. What do you have to fear?"
"You are right, sir. We will be there in a few hours."
Life cut the call and laughed out loud at what a genius he was. He had devised the perfect plan to bring all the creatures to their knees, especially Death. All his life, he was compared to that dark being he had to call his brother, but no more! He had brought him down, he had already won half the battle by turning the Moon against them.
Life got out of the tub and wrapped himself in a silk bathrobe. He then walked out to the living room and tried out his bond. Death's bond was still blocked and Life was extremely amused. Soon, he would have Death begging on his knees. Shiuli was an immortal and could not die, but Amisha could. What would Shiuli do when she realizes that her best friend, her sister died because of her love? Would she be able to continue loving the man whose own brother brought such doom into her life? Well, things are just getting started and Life would orchestrate everything to perfection.