Grim Reaper's Handmaiden [Grim Books:1]

Chapter 3

My eyes roamed around the castle with a beam of excitement despite the situation I am in.

Since he wanted me to get used to this huge place, he offered to tour me around.

He isn’t that bad, I thought to myself.

The ceiling was pretty high with large bright chandeliers hanging from it.

We strolled past a huge room with just an arch separating it from the main hall revealing a long dining set with silverwares and cutleries arranged on top.

I can’t help but notice the maroon curtains covering the huge glass windows and the huge stairs meeting each other on what seems to be the main hall.

And of course, creatures of different kind roaming here and there. At this point, I was just glad that I didn’t choose to be reincarnated.

There were black, bigger than normal crows, rabbits walking on their hind legs, cats the size of a pony. All these abnormal sized and strange animals that I hadn't got a clue existed till now.

They would all bow at the sight of the grim reaper while I cowered behind him, finding it hard to walk with trembling knees.

Some creatures have fear plastered on their faces and some with admiration. Not to mention that he owns this castle.

I closely followed him behind, not wanting to fall behind or to get lost in this huge castle.

He led me outside which seems to be the garden. As I stepped out, the bright enormous moon caught my eyes, which seems to be within arm's reach.

The garden was fenced highly, or the whole castle was. There's a majestic fountain in the middle and the whole place is filled with red roses that somewhat looked like they were dipped in blood.

I hitched, stumbling against the grim reaper’s back as I heard a growling sound just beyond the tall steel fences.

He turned to look at me with a brow raised in confusion.

A short squeal left my throat as I watched in horror, a creature of what seems to be a chimera devoured a poor deer.

I roamed my eyes outside, my body beginning to tremble at the sight before me.

There was a head of a human but body of a horse, a part woman and part bird, huge serpents, and a whole lot of odd-looking creatures I only get to see in my horrifying nightmares.

I gasped for air as breathing became harder. This is what he meant when he said it’s dangerous to stay human.

And as if it wasn’t bad enough, the chimera met with my eyes.

A huge terror grew inside me. He stared at me with his tongue hanging low, his saliva flooding the ground, as if he was hungry for human flesh.

Before I could make out of the situation, the grim reaper’s cold hands grabbed my arm and led me inside the castle.

“My apologies for letting you see that. It must be terrible for you.” He said stoically.

I grasped for air as I chase my breath. I just looked at him unable to utter a word.

“Let’s go and have dinner.” He said and my stomach suddenly growled. It’s when I fully noticed how hungry I really am.

The black abnormally sized crow served both of us steak with a juicy sauce sided with fruits. I fought the urge for my saliva to start dripping down the food.

“Meet Dicarius. He’s my familiar.” He said, his hand pointing towards the crow. I awkwardly looked at the crow and smiled.

“My pleasure to meet such a lovely lady.” The crow said before walking out to the kitchen. At this point I won't even question how and why they could talk.

“Are we the only humans here?” I asked, interrupting him from taking a bite. I nervously fidgeted my fingers, not knowing if he’s going to be pissed off or not.

“I don’t think I consider myself as a human. But everyone here has a human soul just with a different appearance since they all chose to be reincarnated.” He answered and I fell silent for a little while, sinking in the words he said.

I made the right decision to stay after all. If all of the creatures in here have a human soul then I'd be safer here. I pressed my lips and nodded after having a conversation with my thoughts.

I sighed in relief that everyone in this castle are humans and not those scary looking creatures outside.

After gobbling up my food, I offered to wash the dishes but he argued that the crows were in charge of washing.

I somehow wondered how they washed with their feathers.

“Don’t worry I ask them to put gloves on so that their feathers wouldn’t fall on the silverwares.” He said in a serious expression making it even harder to suppress a laugh.

After ascending the huge stairs and taking a few turns, we reached the huge door of his room.

My eyes widened as soon as I stepped into the room. I can’t help my eyes to wander around the room absorbing everything through my eyes. I got a better look at how huge it really was.

A bed double the size of a queen-sized is pressed against the wall at the right side of the room.

It was covered with a velvety shade of maroon sheets and beside it is a gold window frame covered with the same color of maroon curtains.

On the left side was a dark brown desk filled with papers, beside it is another large window except this time it has a wide seat the size of a normal bed.

What I really loved is the large circular couch seated at the center of the room surrounded by bookshelves with a rectangular table on the middle.

He walked towards the door located beside the desk where he took his scythe previously and it came to be a walk in closet.

“Here.” He said, handing me a nightgown. It was silky and has the shade of an old rose.

“Leave your clothes on top of the cabinet. You can find everything you need inside.” He said gesturing towards the door meters away from the bed.

“Thank you..” I said pressing my lips.

As I was walking towards the bathroom door, a thought came running through my mind.

What is his name?

I turned around to find him seated at the couch, his green eyes drifted towards me with a confused look.

“Uhm..” I cowered, feeling the pressure from his eyes.

“What do I call you?..” I asked hesitantly while fidgeting my fingers.

I remembered the creatures earlier calling him sir and some called him master.

“You can just call me grim, I guess.” He said, scratching the nape of his neck. It was evident in his expression that he just made that up at that exact moment.

“Shouldn’t I call you sir or master?” I asked, his brow raised and his hands rested under his chin, thinking about my offer.

“Grim is fine.” He finally decided.

Except I wasn’t.

“I haven’t known your name..” I cowered. I’m not sure if I’m even allowed to know his name. I haven’t heard any of the creatures calling his name.

“I don’t have a name. I’m just the grim reaper.” He said impassively.

My brows furrowed at what he said. He has the form of a human and I’m sure that he was once a human too.

I decided to press the issue further, hoping that I wouldn’t make him fume with anger.

“B-but you were once human too. I kind of want to know your human name..” I stuttered, recovering on my last words.

His eyes widened for a moment and drifted towards the floor. The expression on his face vividly shows that he’s not happy to hear what I said.

“Gyth.” He said nonetheless, just enough for me to hear.

“Gyth Maxwell.”