She Killed The Four

"It was 44 days of hell", Lady said that night, when June had left us alone in the hall, "If Lubbock hadn't found her when he did and if I hadn't stopped by..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

"44 days of hell?", I sat very close to Lady so we were almost whispering.

She was fiddling with Chopper's lighter. I wondered if she had more of his things that he hated sharing.

"This is why we don't allow visitors in Valhalla. She hates strangers."

Lights were really dimmed down and I was beginning to get sleepy.

She continued, "And she hates going out too."

"Is she the treasure?", I asked, thinking back on what Lubbock had said once.

"The treasure? Oh that treasure? Yes, you talked about it before. Yes, she is. She is, indeed."

"The treasure?"

"Yes, she is the treasure. She's the reason we've never left this place either. We decided to stay because this was a place where she could feel safe. I thought I had to protect her", Lady explained.

She was beginning to look sleepy too.

"So how'd she get like that in the first place?", I asked, very casually.

"Get like what?"

"Didn't you find her in a barrel of cement?"

"Oh, that. Yes, I did", Lady answered, half spaced out, "Well, if you must know, Seraph, obviously someone put her in there. As a matter of fact, no one climbs into a barrel of cement. And certainly no one ends up in there by accident."

"Why not?", I asked, my interest piqued a little.

"Anyways, she was put in there. I suppose that's why her hand was still sticking out. You know, out of the barrel. Because she didn't climb in there deliberately."

"Alright, I understand, Lady", I answered, suddenly feeling really sleepy. 

I thought I'd excuse myself and go to sleep.

"I went ahead and killed them", Lady revealed after a pause.

I froze in my position for a while. I didn't directly look at her. As sleepy as I was, and as dim as the light was, I thought I wouldn't really be able to look at her face all that well. And she was dangerously pretty when you couldn't look at her face all that well. So I didn't try to face her at all.

"I killed them all. All four of them. I killed them in the worst way they could die. I made sure they regretted every second of their lives before they died. I wasn't going to make it easy on them. I really didn't", Lady admitted.

"Is this a confession, Lady?"

"I would do it again if they were alive. No, actually, I wish they were alive so I could do it again", the way she said it like it wasn't a big deal made me a bit afraid.

"You're that cold?"

"Angry."

"Alright, angry. Are you still that angry? They died regretting every single second of their lives, so I mean, what else could you do now?"

"I wonder. I'd like to see them suffering a bit longer. To tell you the truth, I hadn't intended to kill them when each of them died. I assumed they'd have a bit more tolerance. And I even held back a little with the last one so he would last longer. But he died too. It was accidental, abrupt. That makes this a regretful turn of events for me. So I'd like to do things right this time."

"You really can't though", I said, sounding very grateful about the fact. I didn't try to hide it.

"Indeed. I'll tell you one thing though. With every single cut I made, I could see myself in the future. I thought I'd die the same way too. But I had time to prepare so well, I did it all the same. I may end up dying like a dog but at least I made sure the bastards died the deaths they deserved."

For some reason, I didn't have the courage to ask her what the "bastards" actually did. I assumed they didn't just put June in a barrel of cement to earn Lady's wrath. To be honest, I kind of knew the answer. I simply hated to confirm it.

It was all in Lady's eyes. Sometimes it shone almost blindingly. Most people were just afraid to ask her. Because the answer was so obvious. I thought it was almost ridiculous. But I managed to catch that glint in her eyes, even though I was trying so hard to avoid looking at her. But I was sitting too close to her to avoid looking completely.

"Does June know you killed them? Did she forgive them?"

"She doesn't know. She won't forgive. No, Seraph. Forgiveness isn't a word here. Those bastards...", she clenched the lighter in her hand and I thought it would break, "They deserve to die over and over again for 44 eternities."

A long, very long pause ensued. And for one I noticed that I was perspiring. It was getting to be winters, but I was perspiring.

"Let's go to sleep, Lady", I proposed as if it had anything to do with me.

"Sit back down, Seraph", Lady pulled my hand just as I'd gotten up.

I felt the danger though. She was really mad. I shouldn't have asked her anything after all.

"No no, let us get to bed, Lady. I really just want to sleep."

"You're such a buzzkill", she kicked me.

If she wasn't in an awful mood, her kick could have been deadly. But now it just punctured my shin.

"Thank you. Now then, let us lug ourselves to bed, my Lady", my leg was hurting.

"Don't speak like that, Seraph. And don't hover over my head. You're blocking the light. You look like a god of death. I can't see your dumb face", she placed her head down on the table.

"Alright then, excuse me", I said, bowing politely so I could trod out peacefully.

"Thank you. Get the hell out of my face", she was still quite mad.

"Incidentally, your chamber's on my way", I said, dragging myself back, picking Lady up and dragging her to the corridor with me.

She was limp, like all her life was squeezed out of her. Before going to my room, I plopped her down in her empty cell of a room and said good night. She made no sound. I waited for about 13 minutes before deciding that if she was dead, I'll find out in the morning.