The Soul Reaper's Arranged Marriage

Chapter 5

Daisy stood in front of the mirror in the opulent, en-suite bathroom of her new shared bedroom with Hunter Armstrong. She had shut the door to give herself some privacy while she attempted to process the events of that evening.

The girl reflected back in the mirror was not someone she recognized. The heavy makeup and expensive clothes were not something that she was used to wearing, especially where she came from. She thought back on her life in Arizona, where she was surrounded by the wide desert expanse, the mountains in the distance that enveloped their ranch in the valley like a protective blanket, and the warm sun on her skin. It was by no means an easy life, but it was simpler then when it was just her, Marco and Seth, and....

She shook her head to clear these reminiscent thoughts. It was doubtful that she'd ever return home, anyway, so no use in reflecting on it any further.

But she hated it here in England, where it was dreary and cold. She'd only been brought here a few months ago at the beginning of summer. If it was this cold during the summer evenings, how miserable would winter be?

Daisy took a warm cloth and began wiping the makeup from her face. She didn't grow up around other girls, so this was unfamiliar territory. Do all girls wear this much makeup? Now that she was Mrs. Daisy Armstrong, was she expected to look like this all the time?

Mrs. Daisy Armstrong...the name sounded strange to her. She grew up not knowing who her family was, so she never had a last name. None of the Soul Reapers knew their families, though hopefully that would change very soon.

She took her hair out of the strange updo that it was in and combed out her hair.

There I am.

Having emerged from underneath layers of foundation, lipstick, and whatever else was on her face, she finally saw someone she recognized. Her hair, having combed out most of the hairspray, hung down around her face. She threw it up into a ponytail and went to take off the dress she was in. She had to pull out her wand to magically undo all the buttons, zippers, hooks, and corset laces that she was trapped in, but after she was able to pull off the dress, she reached for her favorite pair of jeans and a simple black pullover hoodie.

Her eyes landed briefly on the huge ring on her finger. It looked very expensive, and even a little too flashy. It wasn't really her taste, but then again, she never owned anything luxurious like this in her life. Daisy wondered if she would ever get used to wearing something so heavy, but figured she better leave it on in case Osiris questioned its absence. Plus, she couldn't imagine the cost to replace it if she were to lose it.

She opened the door to the bathroom, revealing the lavish bedroom with dozens of paintings in gold frames, and the largest bed she could have ever imagined. The headboard was framed by red velvet curtains. A crystal chandelier hung above the bed, illuminating the room in a soft golden glow. On the plush, red velvet bench at the foot of the bed sat Hunter, still wearing his suit from the wedding, his hands clasped in between his knees. At the sound of the door opening, he immediately straightened up and looked at her. He appeared almost surprised to see her in such casual attire.

"Hey!" he said in greeting, a little too enthusiastically. Daisy waited for him to say more, but he seemed at a loss.

Yep, this is awkward, she thought. A few more moments of silence passed as the two looked at each other.

"Okay, so...I'm going to go downstairs. No need to wait up," she said, making her way toward the door into the hallway.

"Wait, aren't we supposed to...you know...consummate the-"

"Let me stop you right there," Daisy said, turning to face him. "That's not happening."

"Oh, okay, no pressure! We could, uh, get to know each other and just talk for awhile?" Hunter offered, scooting over on the bench to make room for her to sit.

"Um, that's okay, I'm really busy tonight, actually."

"You have plans for after our wedding?" Hunter asked, confused.

"Yeah."

"Oh, okay, maybe tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, maybe."

They both fell into an awkward silence again, both looking around the room at anything else except each other.

"Oh, hey, if you want the bed, that's completely fine; I can sleep on the sofa in the adjacent sitting room," Hunter offered.

"Oh, um..." Daisy seemed taken aback by the offer. It seemed very gentlemanly. She glanced through the wide archway into the sitting room he'd mentioned, which had a couple of plush sofas and chairs around an opulent fireplace. It still had a clear view of the bed, but she supposed there was nowhere else for him to go if they were expected to share a room.

"I don't want to put you out. I'm perfectly fine sleeping on the couch instead. I mean, isn't this your bedroom that I'm crashing?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah, this was my childhood bedroom, but I want you to feel at home here, too."

Daisy almost laughed. She went from living on an old, dilapidated ranch to a giant mansion overnight. She would never feel at home here among all the lavish furnishings and grand rooms.

"Don't worry about it. You take the bed. I might not even make it back before morning."

"Really?" he asked. "Where are you going?"

Without a word, Daisy turned to exit the bedroom, closing the doors behind her.

***

Daisy had made her way through the extensive corridors and staircases of the manor until she arrived at her destination: the private Armstrong library. Fortunately, most of the Osirians had gone home already, so she didn't run into anyone on her way down. She knocked softly before opening the large oak door, but only pushed it ajar a few inches. Peeking through the gap, her eyes spotted Marco at one of the long tables with piles of books, newspapers, and manuscripts scattered on the table in front of him. His head looked up when he heard the creak of the door.

Daisy opened it a little further to allow herself to squeeze through before cautiously shutting it behind her.

"Have you found anything since last night?" she asked, crossing the room to stand behind his chair, peering at the information sprawled out in front of them.

"I was only able to get in here about twenty minutes ago. Some old guy kept talking my ear off at the party."

"Were you able to understand him?" she said with a laugh. "Some of these British accents I can't understand for the life of me."

Marco laughed. "I know the feeling. And I don't think they understand me through my Hispanic accent, either."

Daisy smiled bemusedly. "Do you have where we left off yesterday?" she asked, returning her focus to the task at hand.

"Yes, in this pile I have all of the newspapers in this library we could find from the year we think you were born. They're from all over the UK, so there are quite a few to go through."

"Well, at least we are just looking at the birth announcements," said Daisy, as she took a seat and reached for a newspaper.

"And like I said, I'm pretty confident that the name 'Daisy' is a very English name, so I think there's a strong possibility we'll find your family here. Especially since this is Osiris' homeland."

Daisy put a comforting hand on Marco's shoulder. "I know it will be a bit more difficult to find your family, but I'm confident we can do it. Are you sure you don't remember anything else from your childhood?"

"No, the only reason I think I'm from Mexico and not another Spanish-speaking country is because of my memories of Día de los Muertos as a small child, and we know that holiday is very specific to Mexico. I can remember the big parades and visiting the cemetery with food and flowers. And I kind of remember what my parents and older sister looked like, but it's been so long that the memories are starting to become a little fuzzy."

Marco paused to take a deep breath. It was obvious that the fading memories of his family were an emotional subject for him. Daisy patted his arm.

"We just need to find a way to access Mexican birth records or announcements, and once we figure that out, then I'm sure we can find them."

Marco sighed and shook his head. "For now, let's focus on you. It's going to take a while to go through this, but I have a feeling we're close."

"Do you think we should ask Seth to help us go through all these papers?" Daisy asked.

"No, I don't think so. Seth has really changed since we got here. I mean, he’s always had a chip on his shoulder, but now he seems...I don't know..."

"Brainwashed?" asked Daisy, finishing his sentence.

"Yeah, maybe," Marco replied with uncertainty.

Daisy looked down and sighed. "I'm sure I'd be punished severely for what I'm about to say, but the Osirians are not who I thought they'd be growing up."

"It’s a lot to take in," Marco replied. "We were upended from our quiet lives and brought to a foreign country only a few months ago. You also only just found out you were getting married a couple days ago, and now here you are as the new Mrs. Armstrong."

Daisy rolled her eyes as Marco smiled teasingly at her.

"But we have a duty to Osiris," Marco continued, turning his gaze away from her. "We've trained our entire lives to serve him. I'll admit, things were not what I’d imagined they’d be growing up. I didn't realize all that stuff about Witches being subservient to Wizards, but he makes a valid point. Something needs to change before our magical race dwindles to nothing."

"You're right. I think I'm just a little homesick. Maybe finding out who my family is will help me feel a bit better about things."

"That's the spirit," smiled Marco, tilting his head back up to meet her gaze. "Now, let's get to work."