Death's Apprentice

30

Fresh flowers filled vases throughout the room, filling the air with the scent of lilies and roses. Sunlight streamed through large windows. The two swords displayed in front of them seemed to glow, while the rest of the area was bathed in the light. As we walked in the jangling of my bracelets made more sound than Death's shoes did. Directly in front of us, there was a desk, and behind that desk there was a chair.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The chair spun slowly, revealing a man who could only be Jacob. With his fingers steepled in typical villain fashion, he stared at us with an eerie smile on his face. Gray hair fell around his shoulders, choppy like he cut it off with a knife.

"Can you kill the stereotypical villain stuff?" Death asked. "It's unbecoming and it's annoying."

"Well, what would you rather have me do? It's not like you'll make me out to be the hero." Standing up, Jacob moved from behind his desk. He moved with feline grace and power, something I didn't expect from a dictator. Maybe I should've. Each movement was accentuated by his perfectly tailor suit, which hugged his body in all the right places.

"Even if I wanted to, you just made it incredibly hard."

Jacob sighed. "Why are you here, Death? I'm a busy man."

"You know the keys my sister apparently did a buyback on? Did you keep yours?"

"Maybe I did, or maybe I didn't. I don't see why it matters."

"She took some stuff that belongs to me. I want it back," Death said. He crossed his arms, and I followed suit. I was trying to make the moment more serious, something hard to do given Death stood there in the same shorts that scarred me for afterlife. It didn't help the outfit I wore was less than threatening.

"I want the whole truth."

"That is the whole truth. She stole my scarf and my scythe, I want them back."

"He's more upset about the scarf though," I said. I dropped my arms back to my side. The bracelets made a satisfying tinkling sound, so I shook my hands to make them rattle again.

"Kid-" Death looked at me. He spoke through clenched teeth. "-what did I tell you outside?"

"To not say anything?"

"And what did you do?"

"I didn't say that word," I pointed out. Death sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He mumbled something to himself before shaking his head.

"I take it she doesn't actually know how to dance?" Jacob sat on the edge of his desk.

"I don't know. I didn't ask her."

"No, I don't know how to dance. But I do know how to shoot a gun and get rid of a dead body." I smiled. Moving a step closer to Death, I started digging through the pockets of his cloak, making sure to note which of his pockets housed what I wanted. My hand also happened to close around a piece of saltwater taffy, so I took that.

"Okay," Death said, looking down at me. "We are having a conversation when we get home."

"Bold of you to assume I'll tell you." I popped the piece of orange taffy into my mouth and struggled to talk around it. "Now can we hurry this up? Some of this is really itchy." The sequins and elastic rubbed against my skin and a strip of gray skin began to perk out from under the makeup. I tugged at the material, but that only made things worse.

Thankfully, Death didn't want to make me suffer. "Jacob, give me the key."

"Like I said, I might have one. I might not. And come on, can't you think of any other way to word that? You're so repetitive. Every time I run into you it's give me this, give me that, and never once have you bothered to say please."