The Reaper's Desire

"Wh...what is this?" Her hands covered her lips, her breathing sharp, her voice raspy as blood spurted from mouth, drilling a fierce, unyielding fear in her entire being. 

And from fear came a dreadful pain coursing through her veins, sending her screaming in agony. 

Just a moment ago, Charlotte Wallace was chatting with the women and beginning to take pleasure in the tranquil soiree; the next, she was on her knees, retching blood and consumed by pain raging her mind and soul like a wildfire.

Now, she was surrounded by familiar faces. All the relatives of her nine deceased husbands.

Their expressions revealed everything that was clear.

The smiles on their lips, which expressed nothing but boundless delight at witnessing her in this state, triggered the tears in her eyes to well up.

All of a sudden, blood started streaming from her ears, nose, and eyes that quickly ran down her cheeks in place of tears.

"Pl— please." Her voice faltered.

"Do not cry, Charlotte. You are already old enough to pass away." An old woman, the mother of her first husband, cooed, her gray eyes glimmering with sheer joy. "Are you not already thirty-five years old? You may be blessed with beauty, but you cannot escape the agony of being murdered by us."

"Keep a safe distance from her. You could die the same way she claims my brother did!" A much younger woman, Bella, the youngest sister of her ninth and last husband, who died 5 years ago, spoke with pure contempt. She had always been a friend. Her deceit was devastating. 

Everyone took a step back. And weak, Charlotte fell to the ground, spluttering nothing but blood.

For years, she had served as her family's marionette. Groomed to be the ideal wife for powerful, prestigious men. 

At fifteen, her first husband, who was two years older and the crown prince of the empire, mysteriously died on the night of their wedding. Four years later, her parents wasted no time in matching her up with someone else who also passed away on their wedding night. 

This happened every wedding night up until five years ago, when she refused to bow to her family.

However, her past, her curse was now sending her to her grave. 

Although depressed, devastated, miserable, she really didn't want to die... Not in this way.

"Take a look at that pitiful face. You have been declared a traitor to the rest of the world, so do not think you are important enough to get help from anyone here." The very well-preserved emperor glared at her. "You murdered my brother. You are a murderer!"

Charlotte's body shook, and as the pain intensified, her cries cracked. "I... Pl.." She struggled to speak, heaving violently and vomiting copious amounts of blood.

They all burst out laughing. Revealing the absence of mercy.

To be honest, Charlotte had always seen her life as a curse. But, her husbands, the time she spent with them, she knew. Their love for her never wavered. So much so that she knew they would die for her if necessary.

Abruptly, there were more complaints of absolute disgust.

"It is time to put an end to this."

"I can not bear seeing her face any longer." 

"Burn the traitor!"

"W..what?" Charlotte choked out, shocked. She stiffly pressed her hands against the chilly marble floor, raising her torso and lifted her head to meet their faces.

With fire torches in their hands, all nine of her mother-in-laws exuded confidence.

Charlotte took a shallow breath. She was already dying from the poison. There was no reason to burn her!

Just as the shock took a deep hold on her, she looked to the corner of the room to see her mother, father, siblings... Her entire family standing there, staring at her with nonchalant expressions.

"No—" She coughed out, hard. Nothing but blood and her breath.

There was no one to help her.... Not a soul to call out to. 

Despite not being shocked by her family's treachery, she still wanted to let them know that she had done nothing wrong. Unlike everyone else around her, she was a weak, defenseless woman devoid of magic. She was powerless to do anything.

Right away, she broke down screaming only to be struck by a fire torch on her face, which instantly burned her skin amplifying her scream.

She was completely paralyzed, unable to move or struggle. And without hesitation, the other women tossed fire torches at her, watching as the fire swiftly engulfed her body.

Charlotte let out a loud cry, her screams resounding endlessly off stone walls. It was impossible to describe the excruciating pain of being burned; it tore so deeply that she started to wish for death to spare her from it.

Before long, her vision was totally obscured, and the only sensation left in her body was the fire crisping and crackling her skin.

On the spur of the moment, the more she screamed, the more she could feel the pain lessen. And then all of a sudden, she felt like her body was being thrown into freezing water turning her existence off without delay.

.

Cold.

Cold.

Cold was all she could feel...

She moved her arms... They were fastened to the wall with chains.

"What? How?!" Flapping her eyes open in a panic, she discovered she was sitting in a completely dark room.

However, she soon realized that the moment she became aware of the darkness, a brilliant light—which appeared to be moonlight—came shining through a tiny window and fell upon her body, revealing a gorgeous, opulent, silk wedding gown that glistened brilliantly like a thousand stars.

"What...?" She trailed off, startled, and turned to face her hands—which were firmly chained to the wall! "What is happening? I thought I..."

"Do not finish that sentence, sunshine, you might regret it." Came a rich, velvety, sinister voice cutting through her panicked words.

While her heart did skip a beat alerting that she was alive, Charlotte was extremely bewildered and terrified!

She parted lips, her eyes narrowing to the spot where her ears picked up the voice. 

Directly in front of her, in the shadows, directly before her eyes. 

The longer she looked, the more she noticed glowing blood red eyes shining through the dense darkness, spilling dark danger.

Petrified, she pushed her back against the cold wall, closing her eyes shut. 

Her heart was beating mindlessly, her brain struggling to process what was going on! Just a minute ago, she was burning to death! Was her brain playing tricks on her? Could this be the afterlife?

"Are those tears?"

Charlotte's eyes snapped open, meeting those hauntingly beautiful glowing blood red orbs and dilated in complete aghast.

Those eyes... This gorgeous, otherworldly, ethereal man crouched before her...

"Y.. you!" Her voice came out sharp and she impulsively smacked her forehead against his. 

"Aww!" He groaned sluggishly, and clamped her jaw close, forcing her to swallow.

"You remember me? It's an honor!" His rich, baleful voice glowed with an unsettling kind of joy, and his bright crimson lips twisted with perilous delight.

Charlotte shuddered at his frigid touch. She wanted to speak but held back, glaring at him murderously. 

This man was her demon, her nightmare. A being who made nine appearances in her life. A being who, with a simple flick of his finger, ended the lives of her husbands. 

He tightened his grip on her chin, enough to make her whimper. "You have been a good girl, so you will be reincarnated. But for this one moment only, I stole you away." And he leaned in closer, whispering into her ear. "To let you know that this time, you will be mine. Only mine."

Charlotte heaved heavily in response, feeling her existence disappear into the darkness before being engulfed in light and waking up howling aloud in the body of a newly born soul, body, and life. 

Forgetting that he was DEATH himself.