Belle Adams' Butler

Lucas disappeared in a blink of an eye and Barron turned to look at Belle, "What's the matter?"

"We need to check how and when Vivian is going to die, and I asked the ghoul to get information about a lady."

"Isn't that a good thing? He killed the person who was going to kill the girl. This way the girl is safe," said Barron. 

Belle shook her head, "No, that's not how it works. Like it or not, the three of us are going to die. More like we have to die and there's no dodging death," she said staring at the ghoul, "Look, I know it's not why you came here for, when you came to look for me. But the truth is she will die, the other girl will die and I will die, and you need to let it happen so that I can bring her back alive or keep her somewhere safe," she said to the ghoul who didn't respond and she could only hope it was listening to her. 

"You are going to die too?" Barron asked slightly taken aback by this revelation, "And Lucas is alright? You know what? You both should get married, make babies so that those babies will look after me. Of course, I will be their guardian reaper." 

"That is very sweet of you Barron."

"I eat apples and have turned sweet," Barron ran his hand over his long ear, "But on a serious note, why do you need to die?" 

"It's not like we wish to die but things are going to happen in the future which will lead to our deaths. Death is inevitable and if we don't foresee and keep dodging it, it will make it difficult for me to save her right now," she then spoke to the ghoul, "I need you to make another contact with her so that I can read her again. Please do not kill anyone in the meantime," she said and the ghoul disappeared. 

After two minutes, Lucas appeared back in the drawing-room, and he said, "Three weeks."

Belle took a deep breath and she rubbed her forehead.

"How is that possible that her time limit has shortened instead of increasing her life span?" questioned Barron as the woman who was supposed to kill the girl was dead. 

"Greed and Winston changed the time. There has been an imbalance in the clock of death and if you try to fix things, it is going to make it worse," answered Lucas, "You have three weeks to save her soul," informed Lucas. 

Four weeks were gone. Just like that. 

"Why did they change the clock?" asked Barron, curious.

"I don't know. When I asked him, Greed said he wasn't informed about it," responded Lucas. 

"Is it okay to believe his words?" Belle questioned knowing Greed's history with them. 

"He's alright. He wouldn't lie to the twelfth Grim," replied Lucas.

Belle, who was thinking for a solution, asked, "How about we do a body double? Something similar to how Isabell did to herself?" 

"That will require you tapping into the forbidden magic and you know what happens when a white witch touches the forbidden magic. This isn't any measly spell but will require the soul to be moved from one body to another," Lucas wasn't ready to have Belle corrupt her soul, not to forget she was a witch and a vampire, a combination they had no reference to. 

"He's back," Barron informed them to have them look at the ghoul who had appeared back in the room. 

Belle finally walked towards the ghoul and she asked it for its hands. Placing her hand in it she travelled in time to look at the future before returning back after a few minutes.

"I know how she is going to die and what to do," she whispered to herself. The hair on her neck stood up at the sight of what she had seen, "I will need you to meet me tomorrow. When you find time away from your regular work."

Lucas and Barron heard the ghoul garble and it disappeared again. 

"I forgot to mention something," said Lucas, having Belle and Barron turn to look at him, "Belle, when your parents were about to die, there was a time skip in death. It shortened too quickly. Whatever you want to do, you will need to do it right away because we don't know if the time change is because the ghoul killed the woman or if the time has reduced because of the already present imbalance."

"Okay, I will meet up with the ghoul and start to prepare what is needed for her soul to be alive along with the Duke."

"There's going to be two casualties?" asked Barron, his ears moving up and down which he enjoyed doing. 

When Belle's eyes met Lucas who nodded his head, understanding who was the second person apart from Vivian who was going to follow her death. Vivian shared a soul bond with the Duke. 

"There's also another concern," said Lucas, that had Barron pull both his long ears in his hands, "The time of her death is around the same time as the massacre that has been set in the towns. Bonelake and Wovile." 

Snow had started again, the wind moving with much higher velocity, hitting the atmosphere with coldness and burying the land further with snow. Belle looked outside at the sound the wind made against the windows as it tried to make its way inside. 

They heard a laugh coming from the above floor. The laugh echoing in the mansion. 

Greed, thought Lucas. 

"What is the possibility that the servants will hear that and run for their life to never return?" asked Barron. 

When the next morning arrived, Belle had woken up alone in the room.

At least that is what she believed, not noticing the shadow that had been sitting in the corner of the darkroom. She went to the bathroom, walking towards the sink and turning on the faucet. She looked at her reflection, her eyes red and her face drowsy. Bending down she poured the water on her face which was ice cold. Turning the faucet close, she looked up to see someone standing behind her.

It was a hooded creature who held a scythe in its hands.