Belle Adams' Butler

Belle could barely wait to get to work. Not used to having such peaceful days, it felt strange as she had Lucas headed back to where Greed stood at the grave of her parents, unmovingly. 

"Would it be strange if I said I find him creepy at times?" asked Belle in a whisper.

"I find him creepy sometimes myself, but you get used to him. He can be very annoying," answered Lucas and Greed's eyes narrowed as if he knew they were speaking about him. 

"Not to forget his admiration for you. I feel like I am fighting a jealous girl," confessed Belle with an awkward smile and Lucas chuckled.

"I feel very loved by you," he took hold of her hand and squeezed her hand in his. The smile on Belle's face widened, "We should head back to the mansion," he announced before his eyes started to sweep across the cemetery around them. 

"Where is Barron?" asked Belle, slightly concerned at the disappearance of the little boy. Greed shrugged his shoulders as if he had no clue of where the Fourth Grim was. And Barron finally appeared from the other side, "Where did you go?" she asked Barron.

"Sightseeing the graves. Did you know that there is indeed a grave that had its headstone placed upside down?" asked Barron. 

Belle had never noticed this before, nor had she been told about it, "Who does it belong to?"

"Tabitha Page," answered Barron. 

"I don't think she is related to us. There's no page in the family. None that I know of," replied Belle. 

"Anyways, I found someone who was waiting for us in the cemetery," informed Barron, "See who I brought along with me. Tada!" Barron showed his hand behind him, and the three of them turned to look at the ghoul who appeared behind him, "You should appreciate that I am saving time and bringing people-what are you shaking your head for?" 

Even Lucas turned to look at Belle who was not exactly happy on seeing the ghoul who they were working with. 

"Oh, Barron!" she whispered, "This is not the ghoul who we are speaking to," her eyebrows furrowed deeply. This was not Everest who wanted to protect Vivian, but it was the brother of the ghoul who knew nothing about their plans. 

Barron turned to check and make sure he had got the right ghoul, though, in truth, he had barely spent time with the ghoul, unlike Belle. The ghoul's hand moved right towards his face which Barron dodged by falling on the ground and moving away. 

"Are we supposed to kill this one," Greed asked, pulling out his scythe, he was ready to impress Lucas with the skills he had enhanced over the years. 

"No!" Belle shouted, "He belongs to the Lord, and he is needed." 

"Don't you know it is kill or be killed?" asked Greed and at the same time, the ghoul arrived close to her when another ghoul appeared in between them. The ghouls spoke something to each other and Belle even if she wanted to. She couldn't hear the words. It was like both of them were having an angry exchange of words. At one point, the other ghoul's hand reached Belle, but Lucas had pulled her behind. 

The ghoul, Everest, stopped its brother from going further, growling at each other before one of them left. 

"Is everything alright?" asked Belle to the ghoul.

The ghoul turned around, looking at Belle, "Yes. He not like people."

"I can tell that," answered Belle, "I am sorry I didn't contact you sooner."

"S'okay," the ghoul replied back with it's broken language, "She has letter."

Belle blinked her eyes and then asked, "What letter?"

The ghoul didn't answer and stood in front of them quietly. Belle's eyes moved across the cemetery, hoping no one would catch sight of the ghoul. They were already in the radar of the councilman. Having another person seeing them do suspicious activity would only be bringing more trouble to them. 

"She can speak to ghouls?" asked Greed, evident surprise in his voice as even the people from the land of the dead couldn't converse with these lowly creatures. 

"I told you. Belle is special. She is not an ordinary mortal," answered Lucas, his eyes looking at the ghoul who stood in front of her now. 

"It must be very common though. Lowly creatures can mingle and talk with the other creatures. Shouldn't be that surprising," commented Greed. 

"Says the one who was surprised that she could talk to the ghouls. Do you feel jealous?" asked Barron, wiggling his eyebrows at Greed while looking up at him. 

"Pfft!" Greed rolled his eyes, "As if I would be jealous of a lowly mortal."

Belle continued to look at the ghoul, waiting for it to speak when it finally said, 

"She is going to Valeria tomorrow," said the ghoul as if processing its own words, "Meet brother."

"Vivian has a brother?" asked Belle to see the ghoul nod its head. It was the first time she was hearing about this. 

"Time ticking. Less time," said the ghoul. Before Belle had the opportunity to turn to Lucas, he had already disappeared. When Lucas appeared back, Belle looked at him to see him have his lips pursed together. 

"Four days. That is all we have," Lucas informed her, "The time seems to have skipped forward again." The last they had checked, they had around thirteen days but like how Belle's parent's death had arrived quickly, so did Vivian's. 

"But that won't be enough," Belle frowned in thought. 

"You will have three days to make sure the soul can adapt. The rest we leave it to luck," answered Lucas. 

"Okay!" Belle nodded her head, "Let's do this now," they couldn't waste another second or minute more. 

"I will go find the soul. Go with the ghoul to where you went with it last time. Barron comes with me, and Greed goes with Belle," ordered Lucas.

.

Scroll to read the next chapter...