S I X

S I X

King's Name

THERE WAS A time in which I proudly believed myself strong. That I feared nothing in the world and had everyone behind my back supporting my every decision. A lot had passed since that day, and I am not that person anymore. I learned to embrace fear because fear keeps you alive. Fear warns you of danger and harm, while reckless bravery often leads to the plummet towards death.

Right now at this very instant, I felt fear like I've never before. It was a foreign sensation, curdling my blood like bad milk as frost began to creep up from the tips of my fingers, slowly curling itself around my skin, kissing the area with a slight sting before moving on to devour more of my body warmth.

I could faintly register noises slowly seeping back into reality, but the whole time Death had me in his grip, my eyes were trained on him as if I've never met another guy more beautiful. Though that comparison was more literal than metaphoric, Death still had some sort of magic grip over me as leant slightly closer, face not even inches away from my own.

I could feel his breath fan out, mist gathering from the collision of the cold atmosphere and his own inner body heat. Somewhere from a distance away, I could hear the cries of men and women, battle cries, followed by maniac laughter as horses galloped from far beyond into the scene that laid a bloodbath. Death's arm was around me, my body completely still as he pressed his broad chest against my figure as if protecting me from harm's way when it could very easily be false.

"Death! Let go of her!" Lucius' angered yell was strained, anxious even.

Death did not reply, only offering him a mock salute before his free hand grasped the edge of his midnight cape, twisting it around us as the scenery of the forest began to fade away. Not even a second later, the night view was replaced by the interior design of a majestic marble palace.

The very second my feet touched the ground and the world stood a still, I regained control of my body once more. It was an act of pure impulse and recklessness, but the first thing I did was to raise my clenched fist as it made contact with Death's perfectly shaped nose, catching him off guard as my knuckles throbbed in pain from the violent contact.

"Jesus Christ, fuck." Immediately, his hands reached up to cup his nose as we both took a few steps away from each other, me hurrying to the other side of the massive table placed in the centre of the room. "When did you become so violent?"

"Step away from me!" Picking up a random candlestick as a weapon, I held it in front of me before realizing that I still had my 'magic' gun tucked away in the back pockets of my jeans. Though Death held the one Lucius had given me, he did not take away the trusty white pistol that saved my life the first time round.

Death gently rubbed his nose in pain, pearly white teeth gritted in annoyance as he eyed the gun in my hands as well as the fallen candlestick. "Easy with that thing, Addison. My decor is very expensive. And though I can easily afford it again, I do not want to kill another retailer for their disgusting low-quality goods."

"You're worried about your furniture when I can easily shoot you?" My jaw dropped in disbelief, hands never wavering as Death stood up a little straighter, a smirk playing on his lips as he shrugged playfully.

"I do get very expensive furniture. Only the best of the best for the kings, after all."

"What king?" My grip tightened around the handle of the pistol, my knuckles turning into white due to the sheer force I was using to grip the thing.

"King of Hell? Well, one of the kings of Hell. I need to give credit to my brothers, after all." And he stopped in his tracks, an innocent puppy-like smile gracing his features as he held his hands in front of him, clasped loosely.

For a moment, I stared at him blankly at the loss of words, not knowing what to say even though I took pride in having a way with words. Death was just standing there, not even trying to get to me. Instead, he looked confident, so sure, so powerful. And yet, he looked much softer than he did back in the boathouse. He looked pure, and innocent, and good.

But no matter how pure he looked of a man, I could never forget what he put me through.

"King of Hell indeed! Where is Minnie?"

"Minnie Hoover?" He asked, an eyebrow raised in amusement as he slowly strolled his way towards the velvet couches on his side of the table. Casually, he dropped onto the large loveseat, feet kicked up onto the arm rest as he rested his head on the other. "How would I know?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Death, I know you kidnapped her in an attempt to lure me down."

"Well if that's the case," slowly, Death reached over to the glass and gold coffee table before picking up a bottle of white wine, slowly pouring a bit into an empty glass laying around before he swirled the liquid around almost tauntingly. "I succeeded, didn't I?"

This seemed to happen to me a lot more these days, but I could feel my heart racing against time itself, beating at incredulous speeds as I poised my finger over the trigger, ready to shoot.

"Death..." I trailed off with a hint of warning in my tone. Instead of looking over, he calmly took a sip of his wine before releasing a sigh of content. "Don't play with things in which you shouldn't. Where is she?"

"You know," he started off, continuing to swirl the wine again but his eyes never for once looked in my direction. "Death isn't my real name."

"Of course it is. And we're getting off topic here."

"I mean, sure, that is my name, but it is more of a title than an actual name."

"Stop it with your games!"

"Aren't you curious?" For the first time since we the conversation started, he cast me a doubting smile before gently placing his wine glass down on the table.

I paused. He had very obviously hit the chord there. For the longest time since therapy had started, I was always wondering to myself if Death had a different persona. If he knew me before the party even began. After all, he had to know me somehow in order to get me to attend his party. But then again, though I had a lot of friends back in high school, my circle of close friends were very limited. I was nowhere near cracking the case of who Death really was.

He must have noticed my silence for a smile crept onto his lips once more. It wasn't like his usual smirk that held malice and sin. It was instead one of pure childish amusement. One that a kid would have during his visit to a candy shop, or when he was opening a Christmas present he had spent years trying to get his parents to buy him. It held a sort of unreachable delight, yet curiousness that only a child's wonder could have.

I had lost my ability for this smile long ago.

Silence ensued while he slowly crossed towards me, rounding the perimeter of the table. And yet, with every he took, I had no intention of firing my last bullet at him though my gun was poised and ready.

"You had the funniest nickname for me, back in the days," he said, stopping right in front of me before gently pushing the gun away. I was once again held in a trance, one that disabled me of all control over my body. Though I knew that this one was completely psychological. I was too stunned to do anything. It wasn't a spell, more so of silent listening. "There was a time in which you called me 'Dee'."

"And I assume it was because of how you sign off your letters?" I questioned a little too boldly than I should've, but Death only laughed.

"No, it was a short form for my real name."

"I knew your real name?" I asked in disbelief. "I knew you before last year?"

"Oh Addison," he shook his head lightly, a bit of stray midnight black hair falling over to cover his eyes. "You knew me all your life. You just don't remember it and you probably never will."

"What is your name?"

Death took in a deep breath, his eyes dropping to my lips for a brief second before he stepped away. The smile on his face dropped as he began to walk away, footsteps echoing down the room with each step he took due to the high ceilings.

"Dimitri," he replied without even turning back a single time. "And that was where your nickname came from."

"Dee."

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