The Raven and the Serpent: The Final Journey ~ON HOLD~

Meeting Francine the Wanderer

Lenore's POV

I made my way through the nooks and crannies of the Underground to the mess hall. It was one of the biggest areas, equipped with hundreds of kitchens and thousands of tables. Nessie, Saki, Brynnie, Andrew, and Tadaaki were sitting at one of the small table and chatting to one another.

"Hey mates," I greeted them. They greeted me back and I sat down at the table. Andrew then asked, "You gonna eat anything, Nore?"

"No..." I answered, a bit shocked to hear my old nickname. Andrew nodded before taking a bite out of his meal, a bagel with cream cheese. My stomach growled in hunger, but I ignored it.

"How did it go?" Saki asked me about the necromancing, before taking a sip from her glass of lemonade. I sighed and replied, "Nothing happened! Is there other things I can do to help me summon the Celestial Raven?"

"Mmm...oh-a I know-a! What about-a looking through-a the eyes-a of a dead person-a?" Brynnie suggested to me. I raised my eyebrows in confusion and asked, "How the hell would I do that?!"

"I know where the perfect body is," stated Saki calmly. Andrew, Tadaaki, and I stared at her, like she grew a three extra heads, while Nessie and Brynnie continued to munch on their breakfasts. Tadaaki then stuttered out, "W-Where?"

"There's an area in the Underground where we take the bodies of our fallen comrades. The people here call it the UnderMorgue," answered Saki before she stole a piece of fruit off of Nessie's plate. Nessie hissed at her and began scarfing down her meal, to prevent Saki from stealing any more food off her plate.

"Okay, then let's go to the UnderMorgue!" I exclaimed with a lopsided grin. This may sound creepy, but I loved morgues. They were so peaceful without all the people crying and mourning over the loss of a loved one. I always wanted to work as an undertaker ever since I was little.

"Can we, at least, finish our food?" Tadaaki whined. I rolled my eyes at him and answered, "Sure," before stealing a piece of bacon off of Brynnie's plate. She hissed at me and quickly devoured her food, like Nessie did. I swear to the Lord that Brynnie's the Italian version of Nessie. A few moments later, the five of them finished breakfast.

"To the UnderMorgue!" Nessie exclaimed as she posed like a super heroine. Saki and her began walking away and the four of us began following them. After what seemed like hours, Saki and Nessie stopped in front of one of the many water canals in the Underground.

"River!" Nessie and Saki shouted in unison. A small boat suddenly appeared out of thin air. Standing on the boat, was a man dressed in a black cloak. He had long black hair with onyx eyes and death pale skin. The man then greeted us, "Good morning, travelers."

"Who's this?" I heard Tadaaki whisper to Nessie. She then exclaimed to me and my friends, "This is River Angelo! He's in charge of taking people to the UnderMorgue because the UnderMorgue is a hidden place in the Underground!"

"Oh," the four of us stated in unison. River then stated, "My apologizes, but I can only take a maximum of four travelers at a time, Miss. Chang and Miss. Giovanni."

"Tadaaki and Lenore, congratulations you guys are our plus two," stated Saki. My eyes widened a bit in shock. I then exclaimed, "Why Tadaaki and not Brynnie or Andrew, Saki?"

     "Because Tadaaki's omen is related to life," answered Saki bluntly. I sighed in defeat while Tadaaki looked a bit offended. Saki then boarded the boat, followed by Nessie. The two of them then helped Tadaaki and me get in the boat.

      "See yah later," said Tadaaki and I to Brynnie and Andrew, as the boat began to move. They waved us goodbye as we began drifting away. As he rowed, I heard River humming to an unfamiliar tune. No one talked as we made our way through the dark waters of the canals.

      "Hello Miss. Chang, Miss. Giovanni, and friends!" exclaimed a voice. I looked up to see a ghost of a young woman floating next to the boat. Like any person who just saw a ghost, I let out a loud scream, along with Tadaaki.

     "Calm down," stated Saki bluntly and calmly. Tadaaki and I stared at Saki and Nessie, wide-eyed and confused as shit. Nessie answered, "That's Francine the Wanderer! She died during the 1700s after being killed while saving an injured traveler from a flood, so she's the protecter of the Underground's waterways."

     "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Francine..." Tadaaki and I greeted her awkwardly. This was a bit awkward, I never talked to a ghost before. The ghost lady giggled and exclaimed, "You two look exactly like Elizabeth and Gavi! I've seen him since the last time they visited the waterways! How are they doing in this time period?"

      "Uh....they're dead..." Tadaaki stated awkwardly. Francine's transparent eyes widened in shock and stated, "Strange...I didn't sense their deaths..."

     "What do you mean?" I asked. Saki then whispered to me, "Ghosts of enonnos and omen bearers are different from human ghosts. They either have the choice to go to judgement or to stay on the mortal plane. Those who stay on the mortal plane are gifted with special powers. One of them being the power to sense the deaths of people who were close to them."

      "Were you friends with our grandparents, Miss. Francine...?" I asked. Francine then chuckled, "Of course, especially Lizzy! She would help me to guide travelers through the waterways with her power of her omen, the raven!"

      "Wait...the raven?" I asked in shock. She nodded and asked, "What about it?" before raising her non-existent eyebrows. I then answered, "I have the omen of the raven..."

      Francine's eyes widened in shock. Nessie and Saki suddenly became interested in their shoes. River then stopped the boat in front of a large obsidian building. He stated to us, "We have arrived at the morgue."

      We thanked him and got out of the boat. River then rowed away and Francine decided to follow him. I turned to Saki and Nessie and said to them, "You're hiding something, big. Aren't yah two?"

       "Fine we'll tell you..." Saki and Nessie mumbled in disappointment.