Viva la Vida

Deadly Indigo

And now we take a moment not to truly break from the story, but to appreciate the life of some of our other characters. This chapter, short though it may be, we see not through the eyes of an abused queen, but of a man dealt to do the job of Death, who wants nothing more than the best for his wife and 2 adopted children.

A man with indigo eyes watched as the hooded figure scampered down the street. He knew who she was, yet he knew not why she was there. He ignored this though, as he always believed he would learn of these things in due time. He was a grim reaper after all, it would be odd of him to not believe in fate. This man's name is Jundig Karson, the local grim reaper, and the father figure of a certain blonde with lime eyes. He usually did not question many of the things she did, she was old enough to take care of herself and perfectly capable of it, but he had gotten quite curious of her nightly disappearances. Of course, his first thought was that she had found someone she was seeing and was attempting to keep it secret, however, his brother-in-arms, a bronze-eyed Spaniard named Karnos Yetare, informed him that it was otherwise. According to the archer, both he and she had become members of a secret rebellion against the royals that met up each night at the local tavern.

Curious to see not only if this was true, but also if they would allow his assistance, he had began his own trip to the tavern. As he approached, however, he realized he had arrived late, as Karnos, among many others he could name off the top of his head, could be seen leaving the building. He spotted Aurora amongst this group, which was enough to confirm his suspicions, and satisfy his curiosity. He simply turned and fled back to his home

He waited for his eldest child to return home, simply removing his cloak and sitting on their front porch. As he saw her approach, he smiled his tired, old smile. "Welcome back Aurora. How was the meeting?"

He watched her as she visibly stiffened. "Uh...what meeting? I don't...uhm...I have no idea what you're talking about..." She clearly hadn't wanted him to know about this.

He chuckled in response and stood. "Relax, kiddo, you aren't in trouble. Karnos told me what's been going on. I'm actually quite proud of you."

She sighed in relief and hugged him. "Thank you father! Thank you so much!"

He could only hug her back and chuckle once again at her antics. "It's no problem dear. You're doing the job I'm getting a little to old fashioned to do. This whole reaper business requires new ideas and I'm starting to run out. Before, people used to take one look at me and just accept their fate. Now they're trying to bargain for their lives or run away and I just don't know how to deal with it anymore."

She smiled as she pulled away from him. "I'll do my best to continue on your job, dad. I won't let you down!" She had always been eager to do his job, and he found it really endearing.

"I know you won't, Aurora. But for now I think you need to get to sleep. Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked jokingly. He really acted like a dad and he knew it. He didn't mind though, it's what gave him confidence as a father, especially when handling this particular child.

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say you old fart." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek before going into the house. He called out a quick goodnight to her in response and then took a moment to enjoy the night air, before once again joining his lover in sleep.