Chapter 6

Easter sighed, setting down the letter. It didn't even count as a letter, it was just a small note. The banging from his closet has stopped. It had been four days, and Easter wondered how the puppet was doing. He had only been feeding him water for the past four days, since humans could last weeks without food.

"Puppet?" he creaked the door open. The puppet's head was buried in his arms, and when he looked up, there were tear stains on his face. He said nothing. "Today is the finale~ Do you want to come see it with me?"

The puppet's lips trembled slightly when it spoke. "...Sure." Easter smiled.

"Of course. My little puppet is always so keen to explore~" He reached in, pulling the puppet out of the closet. The puppet's legs shook a little, grasping onto Easter's arm for support. Easter laughed lightly, patting its head. His hands shook too, and his arms. After all, starving for four days must make somebody exhausted.

"Puppet, have you learned your lesson now?" he asked.

"Y-Yes, Your Highness."

"That's a good boy." The door was open today, probably for Easter to go see the trial.Easter brought the puppet outside the palace, taking him to the manor. He dressed the puppet up in servant clothing, dying his eyes brown.

"Now, then, go. From now on, your name is Jay Farmer, Nico Sterin's personal servant." He pushed the puppet forwards. "Go on, now~"

"Ah- what if I get caught?"

"Jay Farmer is a quiet and reserved boy, so you'll be fine," Easter replied, uninterested. "When you get there, search for the door with the corpse."

"W-What?" The puppet's face was a mix of confusion and terror.

"If you mess up, I'll starve you and snap off your limbs one by one, bulging out your eyes and letting a dog rip you apart." The puppet turned pale.

"W-w-wait," he muttered, his hands trembling. Easter had already disappeared, though. "A-ah…"

The puppet turned towards the manor. A dead body? The prince had told him about it, and he had even seen the photo of the body. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see it. A young lady, with charcoal black hair, threads all over her body, stitching together her arms, mouth, eyes, hands, legs, a hole cut open and sealed shut repeatedly, blood crusted on the side. Her stitched eyes bulged out, threatening to roll out of their sockets. He didn't want to see her in person.

"Hey, you!" The puppet flinched, turning around. "Why are you slacking off? The second prince is visiting in person today." A maid was running towards him. "Here, take this medicine and give it to the Young Master, quickly."

The puppet nodded, accepting the tray and heading into the manor quickly. In a hall of many rooms, the puppet suddenly realized he didn't know where Nico Sterin's bedroom was.

-

Easter looked around , hitting his head with his hand. His head throbbed, this time so hard it hurt. His eyes were blurry, but he had to keep going. He grabbed his shovel, going again and again. His arms hurt, but he couldn't feel them under the numbness.

He then dragged the boy's limp body into the hole. He fell with a thud, his blank eyes looking up at the sky. The clouds. Easter took the shovel again, taking the earth and shoving it back into the hole, little by little.

"Easter!" Easter spun around, out of breath. Osiris was walking towards him, his bangs combed back, a crown resting on his head. "Pff, why do you look like that?"

"O-oh." Easter leaned on the shovel, gasping for breath. Osiris offered him a handkerchief, which he accepted. "I'm burying a body." Osiris laughed.

"Is that so? Well, I hope you don't get caught~"

"Y-yeah… are you going to the trial now?" Osiris nodded. "Well, good luck, Brother."

After Osiris left, Easter rubbed his head again. It was throbbing less now, but now he could feel the pain in his joints. Killing a young, defenseless boy was easy, but the aftermath was harder. Burying the body, and the mental effects too. He could still hear his screams, and it reminded him of the puppet's weak pounding on the thick closet doors. The eyes of a person who had given up, as their breathing grew lighter.

Tsk. It was almost time to head towards the Sterin manor. He called for a servant to clean him up.

-

"Who was that, Osiris?"

"That was Easter, Mother." His mother was quiet, but nodded. He picked idly at his sleeves, trying to sit up straight in the carriage. Outside, the rhythmic taps of the horses' feet matched with the ups and down of the carriage. Everything was going to be fine.

It unnerved him more that Mother was coming with him, but…

For the past three weeks or so, he had been sending his findings to the Marion family, in hopes that they would be able to win in the trial. It was a lot, but it wasn't enough. If the execution was poor, the whole thing would collapse.

He wondered how Easter was doing. His brother had called his performance a show, but this trial was Osiris's show. He directed it, and he had prepared almost a month for it. If the actors messed up now, he would chop off their heads.

They arrived at the edifice. There were already people waiting in line there, and they bowed when they arrived, muttering greetings. Osiris nodded to them briskly, while Mother looked straight ahead.

They were escorted to the highest seat, which Osiris personally disliked. It meant he had to stand up and lean in to hear what they were saying, and couldn't see their expressions clearly. But, it didn't really matter, he supposed. Even if he could, it wasn't his job to interfere. He was only there to watch his hard work.

-

The puppet clutched the suit he was given, eying the door. 'Run, keep running, and don't look back,' he thought, again and again. He looked toward the door, the one that the maids claimed nobody was allowed to enter, only the young master.

He flinched when the announcement was made. "His Highness has arrived!" The puppet bit his lip, remembering His Highness's bitter expression as he slapped his face, grabbing his arm. The heavy sound of a door slamming shut, then the soft click of a lock.

His throat still hurt from screaming. His hands shook, tear stains still dry in his eyes. The sound of a pen scratching on paper, a door opening and closing, footsteps. He could only hear those things in the dark closet, for seconds, minutes, hours, and then days.

He was snapped back to reality when a maid rushed past him.m. Ah- The door! He rushed towards one of the guest rooms, the one set for renovation. He opened the door quietly, shutting it behind him. There was a big window, and he almost gasped when he saw the Young Lord standing directly outside. His Highness saw him, smiling lightly. He gulped, opening one of the closets by the wall, closing the door. He tried to close his eyes and hold his breath, since the closet gave him bad memories.

He felt for the wall, until he hit the trigger that opened the door. Then, his head a little dizzy, he went inside.