𝕋𝕙𝕖 H𝕖𝕝𝕝'𝕤 𝕄𝕚𝕣𝕣𝕠𝕣

Chapter 16: Death in the Family

Meeting her aunt's first friend in Hell only seemed to make Gem more cautious of her when taking her outside. I.E. never taking her unless necessary.

Well, when you have a child that never grows out of the typical mindset of one and leaves them in a room full of demonic eggs that act like children on an acid-induced sugar rush. There will be chaos.

Currently looking up at the arch-vaulted ceiling of the cathedral listening to the chimes and whispers of the mirrors while lying on the silk couches occasionally following as her tail swung around seeming bored itself.

An audible crunching sounded too close making a shiver run up the Niece's spin, almost reminiscent of the cannibal's eating an unfortunate victim she remembered seeing before finding Gem.

Searching behind the couch expecting to see a horrid devil eating a child's head. To her relief, it was the ashes of a dying branch falling off the family tree portrait above the stairs. She watched as the branch shriveled like it had been in a fire and broke off, falling until it became nothing but ashes on the reflective floor.

"So, it finally fell off" Gem's voice interrupted

Niece nodded, jumping over the couch to examine the dead branch and then up at the family tree "So who died this time?"

Gem crossed her arms looking up at the family tree with pressed lips and tapped her foot, staying silent for a moment before speaking "My older sister. She's been in hell... seems like her soul finally stopped being stubborn and accepted she's dead."

Something about the way Gem spoke made her feel as if Gem was not at all surprised like she had expected her sister to be in Hell all along. "Have you seen your sister since... well?" she questioned sheepishly.

"It's complicated between me and her." Gem started waving her hand, summoning a stitched mouth to clean up the dead branch and scurry off into the shadows. Her eyes suddenly downcasted, "She was in a car accident that killed our mother."

Niece's eyes widened having expected that the two sisters died in more of a fight than a simple car crash. Maybe she should stop watching those Final Destination movies.

"You know," Gem said, placing her arms by her sides as a small smile formed on her thin white lips. "Everyone in our house held some form of talent. Except our father. My sister wasn't a ballerina as I was. She went more with tap dancing when many talent bars opened up in the city we lived in."

"Wonder why I didn't get that talent passed down to me?" Niece questioned jokingly, earning a small laugh from Gem. Then she asked wanting to know for herself seeing as how long she's been isolated without any other family "Does she know where you are or where she might be?"

"Wouldn't count it. She was jealous of me since I was the youngest and ballerinas got more attention than tap dancers did... Supposedly." Gem stated casually

Niece narrowed her eyes and hummed, "Then I guess her jealousy is what landed her in Hell. She can tap dance her way out, but doubtful she can ever be as kind as you are."