The Bondsman (a King Dice x Reader story)

Chapter Nineteen: Bittersweet

Song: (I Always Kill) The Things I Love by Claudia Brücken

     Of course the Devil would have handed your contract off to Dice!

     He knew you'd go looking for it; knew you'd search high and low, so he made sure to put it somewhere that it would be safe. If Scratch was right...if Dice really loved you...then he'd likely take excruciatingly good care of it. It all made sense now. The reason you'd always felt so safe and whole around him. He'd had your contract the entire time. He'd had it right there, practically dangling the thing in front of your nose, and you had missed it.

     The cups had just managed to find their contracts and met you in the hall, thrown off by your sudden dismissal of them as you hurried past. They let you go...you looked like you were busy, and they had their own souls to worry over. Maybe you were just excited about getting your contract back?

     You bolted from the hallway back out into the stomach of the casino, scanning the room for that familiar lavender color that you couldn't ever seem to stop yourself from searching for. There was nothing, the floor decked out in all shades of red and gold and green and brown...but no purple. No Dice.

     He wasn't where the boys had left him, and you had no idea where to even begin to look.

     What were the chances that he didn't actually have your contract with him? Perhaps it was somewhere else...somewhere locked away in a safe place. He'd have kept it close, if not on his person then somewhere he knew nobody else would go snooping about.

     His office.

     You swiftly turned and continued down the hall from which you had come, stopping at his office door with a silent intake of breath. You prayed he wouldn't be inside; that you could just find your contract and avoid confronting him altogether. You gently placed your hand on the golden knob, giving it a testing twist. It wasn't locked...

     Every instinct in your gut was telling you that this was a bad idea...

     You turned the knob anyway, relieved when you were met with an empty room. Your nerves settled in your skin, fizzling out completely as you stepped inside, not bothering to close the door behind you. It was much less extravagant than the Devil's, sprouting a few bookshelves here and there as well as a desk and chair. There were two gothic style windows set into the wall behind the desk, the cave staring blankly at you from the other side accented by crimson curtains. It was dark, as well, the only source of light seeping in from the hallway. It was likely approaching the later hours of the night, now...

     You really hoped that he'd stashed your contract here.

     You started at the desk. Carefully, you opened the top drawer, pushing aside a few neatly stacked reams of paper and a few cigarette cases as you rummaged through, searching for that familiar red ribbon; your name; anything. The top drawer came up empty, and you moved onto the next.

     It went on like this for a few minutes, the office eerily silent except for the sporadic rush of your breathing and the rustling of papers and any other knick-knacks or obstacles he had stored away in his desk. You were careful to place everything back where it belonged. Sure, you were pissed at him, but you weren't that petty. The drawers turned up empty.

     From there, you crouched down to the floor, checking the underside of the desk as well as any gaps or crannies in the wood. Nothing, which only worried you more. You turned your attention to the shelves, taking what looked to be a vibrant green poetry book and flipping through it with a huff. Chances were, been cliche enough to just stash it in a book...but you never know.