F O U R T E E N
The Three Items

DIMITRI SWIRLED HIS own glass of whiskey, bringing the cup to his lips as he sipped at the drink with a sigh of delight. From his drinks cabinet, the spirit of death slowly strolled to the large sofa seats before gently settling on the leather armchair. He sighed once, sprawled lazily over his seat as I sat myself down on the loveseat just adjacent to where Dimitri sat.

"Where's Minnie?" I asked, leaning back on the seat, legs crossed. One by one, I eyed all the boys as they either ignored my question or simply shrugged.

"The last I've seen her she was at the garden obsessing over the flowers," Fabian answered with a wave of his hand before he poured himself a glass of whiskey as well. "She was wondering out loud why the garden had a lack of variety."

"Dimitri's favorite had always been chrysanthemums, after all. And we all know that he's always been rather bias towards his likings and dislikes." Calvin idly commented with a laugh as Dimitri shot him a glare. Shrugging almost innocently, the dark skinned man turned towards me, flashing me a knowing grin before continuing to sip at his own drink. Under Calvin's playful gaze and Fabian's scrutinizing ones, I couldn't help but blush a brilliant scarlet.

"Shut up, Calvin, and mind your own business." Dimitri snapped, though it was said in more of a teasing tone than actually containing venom in his words. "You act like a child sometimes."

"Unlike what we had led people to believe, it is actually rather difficult to stay youthful on the inside. So, there are certain things in which I had to resort to in order to remain young and handsome." Calvin spoke with a dramatic flair, rolling his eyes and resting his chin in the palm of his hand as I smothered my own giggle.

"We're all tired from the journey and perhaps a drink and some catching up would be for the best. Why don't you head on to find Minnie, Addison? My brothers and I have some catching up to do." Wilhelm offered me a small smile.

Just like the tactic that was used on Minnie a while back, I knew without a doubt that it was Wilhelm's polite way to ask me to leave. However, I did not take offense to it like I had when that move was used on Minnie. Instead, I simply stood up and dusted off the imaginary dirt on my jeans before flashing the boys a brilliant smile. I bid them goodbye, for the moment at least, and started to trek my way through the enormous castle that I still had yet gotten familiar with even after the tremendous amount of days I had spent here.

As I started to turn through the different corners of the castle corridors, I was engulfed once more by the silence in which the huge structure undoubtedly provided. The day had already passed, the giant ball of light known as the sun slowly descending down past the horizon. From the window in which I stood by, I could see the clear view of the ombre skies. It looked like a canvas that was splashed with vibrant peaceful hues of blues and pinks, all mixed together to form a single wondrous paragon scene. From a distance, if I strained my ears just enough to listen to the nature that surrounded this giant castle, I could hear the soothing lullaby in which the crashing of waves provided. Seabreeze filled the air, dancing in the skies that were filled with myriad lights of day.

Closing my eyes shut, I placed my hands on the windowsill and allowed myself to be immersed into the beautiful wonders of nature. Such a beautiful sunset it was this evening. Unfortunately, it could also be one of the last views of nature in which I could set my eyes upon.

"You're back!" A voice pulled me away from my reverie. My eyes blinked open, lips slightly parting to take in a gasp of air as I turned around to face the speaker.

Minnie was dressed in a casual blouse and a pair of distressed shorts. Her hair that was as red as fire and had highlights of amber orange was pulled up into a ponytail, her entire look finished with her usual bright and charismatic smile. Today of all days, Minnie looked most at home. She seemed so much more comfortable with herself as compared to when we were back on Earth and this made my heart swell with pride.

"Minnie!" I laughed, jumping into her embrace almost immediately after I had collected myself back to the present. "I know I just saw you a few hours ago but it honestly felt like it's been forever."

"Likewise, Addy." My best friend was the first to pull away, her smile never once fading as she took a step back. "How was the journey? Did you find the book?"

"Yes, we did. We traveled to the Heart of Hell and recovered the book from Ida's grave. The journey was taxing but it's also... so very weird. I mean, how many people can honestly say that they've had the opportunity to see the corpse of their past life?" I nearly snorted at my own words, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Wait. A grave? You saw Ida's corpse?" Minnie's eyes widened with astonishment, her jaw dropping. "How? It's been hundreds of years since she died, isn't it?"

"It's kept away from decomposition with the magic from the heart of this kingdom. It's amazing, really. And she held onto the book. We have no idea how it got there in the first place since Lucifer was imprisoned long before Ida was even born."

"I've long learned not to question how things work here." Minnie let out a laugh, looping her arm with mine as she began to drag me back down the path in which I had come from.

When I passed yet another window, I noticed that the sun was now below the horizon. The rays of the sun reflected enchantingly into the sky as twilight rolled about. As if by command, the candles placed against the castle walls began to light up one by one as sunlight slowly melted away and was instead replaced by the serene glow of the moon.

The silver of moonlight spilled down the path we were walking on, reminding me heavily of Dimitri's eyes the more I stared at it as if I were in a trance. When I realized what I was thinking, I shook my thoughts away lightly, allowing my golden blonde hair to fall around my face, curtaining my features. It was not a time to think of such thoughts. Yes, it was inevitable for my feelings to grow yet I was also nearing my own demise with every second that ticked past. Ever since that night at the boathouse, it seemed as though time had become more of a threat to me than it was before. Before that night, it was just a constant, something as regular and uniform as the constellations in every night sky. After that, time became an aggressive enemy.

In no time, we were back in the room in which I had started out from. The four brothers were still perched in their respective seats, Calvin's belting laughter echoing down the walls as a small smile of my own slipped across my lips. Their radiance was contagious even when the times were dark.

"And what's so funny?" I asked, lips quirking in a smirk as I rested a hand on my hip.

Dimitri was the first to notice me, his large moonlit eyes trailing down my figure quickly before darting back up to meet my eyes. Had I been any slower, I might have missed the way in which he glanced at me and how I wish I did. The look he offered only sent a shiver down my spine as heat rushed to my cheeks. With what felt to me like flaming hot skin, I diverted my eyes from the collision of our gazes, desperate to look anywhere else but at him.

"How wonderful for you to join us again, Addison!" Wilhelm stood up to his feet, staggering a little. It was then had I noticed an empty bottle of liquor on the side table nearest to him. This fact made me snort a little in amusement, attempting to cover it later on with a lame cough. "We've just been discussing about you!"

"Ignore Wilhelm. The man's pissed drunk." Fabian rolled his onyx eyes, resting his cheek on his knuckles. "Like always."

"And here I was thinking that bartenders aren't allowed to get drunk on their shifts." Minnie mused, her own two shoulders quaking ever the slightest as she chuckled.

"Rules do not apply to me, fair maiden!" Wilhelm announced proudly. "I defy all laws and regulations for I am the spirit of--"

"Yes yes, we get it." Calvin waved his brother off, quickly intercepting into Wilhelm's boisterous speech with a grin of his own. "Spirit of war, blah blah blah."

"Does Will become medieval everytime he gets drunk?" I pointed out, shaking my head as I walked over to where Dimitri was seated. Gently, I perched myself on the armrest of his seat as his hand curved around my waist, resting on my thigh to make sure I don't slip off from my seat accidentally. "I mean, the way he talks, it's weird."

"He forgets sometimes that he's already in the far future. Wilhelm's mind is more often than not stuck in the past where wars prevailed and battles were fought over the most trivial of things. Those were his treasured golden years." Dimitri mused.

"Oh, let a man indulge in his guilty pleasures, Dimitri. It is no secret that our darling brother Will loves himself some role play action." Calvin wiggled his eyebrows, hidden beneath his words were a secret meaning that made me stick my tongue out in disgust.

"I could perfectly live the rest of my life never knowing that, Calvin." I shivered in revulsion. "There was no need for you to explicitly mention that."

"I did not mention anything explicitly, dear Addison. It was you that was thinking with your mind in the gutter." Calvin laughed in good humor, placing his glass of golden whiskey onto the table.

"Such children." I could hear Fabian groan from where he sat. "Why am I so unlucky as of to be associated with this bunch of fools?"

"You wouldn't know what to do without us, brother." Calvin cheekily replied.

"Truly, I agree with that statement. I have no idea where I would be without you lot," Dimitri said. Absentmindedly, his index finger began to trace random shapes on my thigh. Though the thick fabric of my jeans was enough to allow some distance between the both of us, I still felt the tingle of his touch wherever he traced.

I cleared my throat. "Same here. Though I guess I will probably either be living a rather normal human life or dead by Lucius's hands. Either way, I am really glad to have met you bunch."

"Speaking of which," Minnie, who had found herself a seat next to Calvin, sat a little straighter. "The book? Have you all read it yet? What does it say? How do we save Addison's life?"

At the mention of the book, I could already feel the air being filled with tension. All the boys straightened their posture at once. Even Wilhelm, who had been a drunken slurring mess was suddenly filled with vibrant bursts of attention, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration as he rested his elbows on his knees.

"We've not read it yet. We were for you two to show up before searching through the pages." Fabian confessed.

With a wave of his hand, palms swiping through the air, a burst of inky black smoke enveloped his fingers. From thin air, Fabian grabbed the book that had materialized, the black smoke that was the sign of his magic fading away like dark clouds after a storm. In his fingers held the leather-bound journal, the gleaming letters of the title shimmering under the light above us. My heart quickened and I knew that Dimitri had the same reaction as I did. His fingers flexed open and close, a small but definite sign of his discomfort. Almost like second nature, I reached down to clasp his hand in my own, rubbing small circles onto his knuckles with my thumb.

"Oh my goodness." Minnie sucked in a deep breath, eyes fixated on the old book. "How are we going to find a solution in that thing? There are so many pages to it. I can't believe that Lucifer had written everything down with his own two hands."

"There's nothing a little magic can't solve." Wilhelm's words did not have a slur anymore and although the rims of his eyes were still slightly tinted with red, ignoring the fact that his irises were red as well, he wiggled his fingers gently, long pale fingers gliding through the air as a mist of blood red appeared at his command.

The book flew from Fabian's grip, slicing through the air before stopping smack in the middle of us. At Wilhelm's command by a click of his fingers, the book flipped open, the pages wildly flying as Wilhelm furrowed his fiery red eyebrows.

"No, no, no..." He mumbled, eyes still firmly concentrated on the book itself.

"What is he doing?" I leaned back a little, whispering the question to Dimitri.

"He's reading the contents of the book using just his magic. The information will show itself to him instantaneously without him actually having to read it. The effects are not long-lasting, though, so if he wishes to remember the contents, he would have to find the page and read it with his own two eyes."

"Amazing," I gasped in awe. "If only I had such a skill before I had to take my exams and tests back in school. Maybe I would've done even better."

"If I so do recall, your grades were already rather wonderful."

"It can never hurt to be better. I want to always be at the top of the game, be the very best."

When I turned around to face Dimitri, eyes breaking away from the intense gaze I had on the book, I realized that Dimitri was smiling at me. I could not really describe the smile. It was one that was mixed with pride and approval, maybe even tinted with something else. Like always, Dimitri hid his true feelings well when he wished to.

"I found it!" Wilhelm's cry of victory made me spin back around, breath caught in my throat as I watched the book slowly descend into Wilhelm's hands. He took hold of it eagerly, eyes scanning through the yellowing parchment as a grin slowly spread across his features. His fingers scanned through the pages of the book, further showing his concentration as he read the olden words out loud for us all to hear.

Reincarnation could be made possible under a few necessary requirements. Firstly, the consent of the spirit being revived is of utmost importance. If the spirit disagrees with the ritual, there will be negative effects in regards to the revival. Secondly, three important objects are needed to fulfill the task. The golden chalice of holy ground, the blood of an angel of light, and water from the path of the fall. With these items, the one once dead would then be brought back to the world of the living.

[A/N]:

-edit on 17 November 2017-

As of now, [Courting Death] is completed on Radish Fiction. The rest of the chapters will be uploaded accordingly to my posted update schedule (at the last chapter).

xx aurora