The Reaper's Curse

A Blossom of Beauty in the Land of the Dead

The little girl trembles in front of her, her eyes fixed on her hands. 

Elara tilts her head. She disappears from her seat with less than a thought and materialises in front of the princess. The princess startles, flinching away. Catching her chin with her hands, Elara forces her to look up. 

"What prompted you to lie to me? Was it fear? Or was the thought of defying me too tempting? Hmm?"

The princess's gaze hardens, much to her surprise. "I do not answer to you."

Elara lets out a burst of laughter. "So the little girl thinks she has a choice!" Tightening her grip on the princess, she schools her features back into a cruel smirk. "I own you. You are mine. Body, mind, and soul. Don't you ever forget that."

The princess jerks her chin away, something much like hatred burning in her eyes. It makes Elara's blood sing. "Can you prove that I can see the dead?"

"We are over this, dear⎯⎯⎯⎯"

"Can you prove it?"

Elara chuckles. "So what if I can prove it? You're my possession either way."

"If you can prove it, I'll do anything you tell me to do from now on. I swear it on Erimere's moon."

"On the moon? If your word is as everchanging as the moon, I would never be foolish enough to trust it. But I can't fault you for that, since it's human nature, after all, to change your mind as easy as you change clothes. So I will prove it to you." Elara gestures towards the door. "You could see Sairah clearly, no?"

The princess nods slowly. 

"There's the proof you wished so dearly for."

"What are you...talking about?"

Elara smiles. "My dear, Sairah is dead. She is a ghost, as you humans like to call them." 

Lilith jumps to her feet and her chair scrapes against the marble with a loud screech. She backs away from her. Like a little mouse caught in a trap. 

"Sairah...Sairah is dead? But she looked so⎯⎯⎯⎯"

"Alive? Compared to the souls you see wandering outside of course Sairah would seem alive. But that is what all the guests in this castle look like. Cleansed of their illness and blood they will look no different than any other human."

The princess stumbles over her own feet. "I don't believe you. I won't believe you."

Elara sighs through her teeth. "I've proved to you, as you wished, yet you refuse to believe me. You deny my words because a princess like you won't fathom the thought of having to bow down to me. What arrogance. You mortals seem to have an obsession with breaking promises." She scowls. "Stop right there."

The princess does not obey. She has backed all the way to the door.

"Fine. If that's how you wish to be, then you leave me with no other choice. Stubborn little girl, let's see how long you can last without food and water."

With a snap of her fingers, the plates of food on the dining table vanish, leaving no trace behind, not even a crumb or a drop on the table. "Sairah!" she snaps.

Immediately, the woman bursts through the door, as if she was waiting just outside the dining hall for her call. The princess startles, having nearly been knocked over. "You asked for me, My Lady?"

Elara folds her arms across her chest and jerks her head towards the princess. "Take the princess to her chambers. She's to have no food and no water until she comes to her senses."