"What do bạn mean bạn sold my soul to the grim reaper!" Courtney shouted at her parents. She was on a complete rampage, "How could bạn do this to me! Why not Hillary? Kyle? hoặc the twins?" she screamed and kicked her brother for no reason. Kyle bent over in pain and wobbled away, Courtney turned to her mother, "How come bạn never told me?"

Mrs. Marinez was crying into her husband's shoulders, she wiped some of her mascara away, "I was going to wait until tomorrow but Duncan showed up unexpected, like he does most of the time". She turned to glare a bit at the Duncan who was browsing through their CD collection. He shrugged, "It's my job. Oh and tell the drama Queen to calm down" he đã đưa ý kiến motining to Courtney.

Courtney growled at him, "Mother what happened?" she asked is utter exsparation. Her mother sat down on the couch, "Well it wasn't exactly what we did it's what the family did. About fifty years cách đây one of your relatives sold a daughter's soul to Duncan's great, great, great, great,great, woah that's a lot of greats, grandpa. The deal was that some girl in the family on her sixteenth birthday will have to take on the family's burden and serve the reaper in anyway".

"But why did I get chosen?" Courtney asked. Her mother shrugged, "Everyone else got around it hoặc they lied".

Courtney burst iut laughing and crying, "So what I was the tiếp theo best thing! And what if I were to decline?"

Courtney felt slight breath on the back of her neck and she turned around slowly to Duncan's smirking face. "If bạn were to 'decline' then bạn and your entire family will be cursed for always and eternity. Oh and bạn will have to spend eternity in the Thế giới ngầm with me, forever". Courtney rolled her eyes and pushed him away from her hoặc so she tried.

Her hands were stuck inside his chest and when she tried to pull away her hands wouldn't move. "Oh my Gosh! So nasty, let me go bạn disgusting, no living, red death!" she screeched. Duncan laughed and took her arms and pushed her backwards. Courtney had black goup covering her whole arm. "Ew, what is that?"

"Just my body" he đã đưa ý kiến smiling. "Or whats left of it"

Courtney gasped and backed away from him a little, "So what this is my choice?" she asked her parents. They nodded and grandma Perkins whispered in Courtney's ear, "You do whatever your heart's decide Court. Don't let the family business ruin your life". Courtney glared at her grandmother and hissed back at her, "I don't have a real choice do I? If I say no then I go to hell! If I say yes then I still have to go with the red death over there".

"Courtney just take one for the fam" Kyle yelled from across the room where he had still rubbing his leg. Everyone was looking for her answer, Courtney sighed and rolled her eyes, "Alright alright, I'll take on my family's burden" she mumbled. Duncan laughed darkly and the whole room froze and the other weren't moving, everything was cold.

Courtney waved a hand in front of her mother's face and she didn't respond. "What did bạn do to them!" she cried.

"Nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you" Duncan used his scythe to create a portal we grabbed Courtney's arm and pulled her in. She squirmed agaisn't him, "Put me down bạn pervert! Where are bạn taking me!"

Duncan was tired of this girl complaining and whining over everything so he used some of his powers to knock her out for a while. He looked down at her limp body, for the first time that ngày he never really got a good look at her. He had to admit she was pretty, she was even hotter when she was knocked out it a deep sleep.

Duncan shifted her weight on his back so he could glide through the depths of the Earth until he was trang chủ at the place where death comes true. He checked the death-o-meter which now read Over a 1,456,986 Served Today. "Hmm the numbers really low for today, but xin chào it's early" he đã đưa ý kiến walking through the gates. He checked to see if everything was in order, "People moaning? Check. Scuffy fed? Check. The fates are here? check. Wait woah wait a second. The fates are here!"

He ducked down behind a large carcass and looked to where the fates were drinking from the River of Souls. "Dammit!" he cursed and looked around for his little slaves. Courtney was starting to groan and wake up from his back, "Oh great, now the princess is about to wake up thêm to deal with. If those little asses aren't here in like five giây I'm going to seriously hiển thị them what angry is".

His two little slaves, Death Mask and Trouble were making a fool of themselves bởi shooting off souls into the air and watching them float back down. "Death Mask! Trouble! if bạn I don't see your pointed little butts in five giây I'll tear off your horns and feed them to Scuffy" Duncan growled from his hiding spot. Courtney was opening her eyes slightly and starting to come around. Duncan threw her towards Death Mask and Trouble. "Take her to the dungeon and keep her quite, while I deal with the fates".

"Right away boss" Death Mask đã đưa ý kiến as he pulled Courtney's legs and Trouble got her arms. "Hey I can see down her shirt!" he called out as they pulled her down the hall. Duncan straighten out his áo choàng he pulled back his mui xe at fixed his mohawk, before walking over to the chambers. The three fates were pulling out each others maggots and eating them. "Ladies!" Duncan exclaimed.

The short one with the third eye hissed her snake like tongue at him, "You're late Duncan. But we already knew bạn would be late". Duncan laughed nervously, "Yeah yeah I had to make a little pit stop and-"

"We know!" the two eyed one said. "You were at the Marinez house picking up their uh small payment". The eyeless one said, "Was she wearing the necklace?"

Duncan thought back a một giây and remembered that he was looking a her boobs as she ranted. "Yeah she was wearing it and it was red. But xin chào I thought bạn knew everything" he đã đưa ý kiến smirking. The eyeless one lấy trộm, đánh cắp the third ones eye and popped it in to hers, "We can only see the events of the past, present, and future. Not details".

Duncan walked over to his big chair and sat down, "So I'm wondering when my little future will take form? When do I get my old body back and when can I kick this loser job?"

The một giây fate floated over, "Never."

Duncan was reclining back in the hard chair and he sat up straight gaping at them. "What do bạn mean never. This isn't a permanate job!" The first fate laughed bởi when she did some con nhện, nhện webs flew out her mouth. "This will be your permanate job if bạn don't have a child to pass the uh, luck on."

Duncan scowled, "So what I have to get married?"

"No. bạn just have to get some chick knocked up. How about Gwen? she's a lovely dark girl" the eyeless fate đã đưa ý kiến rubbing her worm infested head. Duncan thought for a moment, "No, no I can't just get some girl preggers and then drop her and then come back to claim her child as the tiếp theo grim reaper. No I need to marry someone, it has to be the right one. I could marry Gwen and have some goth child".

The eyeless fate took Duncan's hand, and the other two grabbed his head and chest. "Duncan were going to give bạn back your human form to go above ground only in the daylight, but when night falls hoặc if duty calls bạn must return to your regular form. Understood?" They didn't give him a chance to answer because the transformation was already rubbed a hand over his face and skin, "I can't believe it. No thêm mucus!"

The fates started to disappear but they kept speaking once they were gone, "You must pick a bride soon. bạn have until the child's chuỗi hạt, chuỗi hạt cườm turns black again, Duncan. Oh and clean the place up some! It looks like hell!" their voice faded out until it was no more.

"Where am I going to find a girl dumb enough to marry the grim reaper. I need to find Gwen and take her above ground with me" he sat back mumbling in his chair. Death Mask and Trouble came teetering in, "Um master...the prisoner girl is awake and kicking. Literally! She demands to see bạn again" Trouble đã đưa ý kiến rubbing his ankle.

"Oh for the tình yêu of bloody hell!" Duncan exclaimed. Death Mask walked up to him and ran a hand over Duncan's skin, "Wow is that skin? Boss bạn look like your old self again". The skin wasn't permanate and when Death Mask touched it, it turned back to it's original gray color until he took his hand away. Duncan growled and picked him up bởi the horns, "Keep your filthy hands off my skin! Is the girl tied up of is she loose?"

"Loose boss!"

"Great" he mumbled and began to walk out of the chambers almost bumping into Gwen the mistress of life. "Hey watch it reaper boy!" she đã đưa ý kiến fixing her black dress. Duncan smiled at her, "Sorry, I'm a little preoccupied right now. Just had a little meeting with the fates and we got our Skins back!" he đã đưa ý kiến running a hand over his arm. Gwen laughed, "Yeah I noticed but it goes right back to corpse gray if we touch anything related to death".

"I know, well we go above ground in a couple of days alright. Me and bạn have some business to attend to in Nhật Bản tonight so meet me here in about four hours. bạn need some juice?" he asked noticing the color of her eyes. Gwen nodded, "Yeah in case bạn haven't noticed I sporting a lovely eye color of pus yellow!"

Duncan rolled his eyes at her constant yelling and nagging. "Alright make it quick I got a princess waiting in the dungeon" he leaned in and gave Gwen a Kiss on the lips for a good twenty seconds. She pulled back and walked over to the river of Mất tích souls, her eyes turned to their deep purple. "Thanks Duncan. What was that about a princess?"

But Duncan was already running off, "I'll tell bạn later!" he ran up the steps and down a dark corridor to the last most nastiest cell in the whole underworld. He peered in and saw the girl crying on the floor, he opened the door slowly and marched in. The girl looked up startled but then her expression changed to complete rage.

"You! bạn killed my soul! bạn took me away from my family and my world!" she was pounding on his chest tears coming down her face. Duncan pushed her away from him with a thrust of an arm, she fell agasint the wall. Duncan looked in disgust at her, "Yo drama queen, bạn done blubbering yet?"

Courtney curled into a ball, "I'll never see them again. bạn didn't even let me say good-bye. I'll never see them again." It took Duncan a moment to realize she meant her family and all of a sudden he felt bad. "Look uh...princess-"

Courtney glared up at him, "It's Courtney! Red Death" she spat back.

"Well if I can't insult bạn then neither can you. Names Duncan. Come on, I'll hiển thị bạn to your room" he started to head for the door when he realized that she wasn't following. "My room? But I thought..." her voice trailed off. Duncan sighed, "You really wanna stay in the dungeon than a nice giường xin chào be my guest".

Courtney wiped her tears and walked with him but not tiếp theo to him just beside him. Duncan smirked because he could hear her sniffling again,

"Good princess"