The lake of bones was considered to be the most beautiful place in all four lands of the empire during the time of the night because of the smoky fog that appeared to look like clouds and lightning of sparks that never made its way out but was contained inside the outer surface. Belle's eyes looked at the lake of bones that moved back and forth like the waves of the sea to look at the Fourth Grim who was walking at the edge, looking for the girl.

Barron was in his rabbit form, his cotton legs picking up the wet sand that was on the ground which in turn, turned his legs wet and heavy.

"Ophelia!

" Barron shouted the girl's name,

"Ophelia! It is Arron!

"

"He had one more form before. The boy is not his first form,

" informed Belle to Lucas who stood next to her, watching the rabbit along with her.

Lucas didn't question it but weighed her words,

"He is not able to go back to any form though. Something must have changed in the land of the dead to cause him to be able to change to another form recently. But now he's stuck with the younger body,

" he then added,

"I thought you were going to rest.

"

A soft smile appeared on Belle's lips,

"I wanted to make sure he was alright. It is rare for him to turn quiet.

" Belle didn't know if it was possible to find the girl's soul in here because the lake was vast enough and it connected to the sea that touched the horizon.

"The lake of bones, it isn't good to be here,

" said Lucas, and Belle gave him a questionable look.

"Why not?

" Was it because of the ominous atmosphere here? And as she asked the question, Belle noticed a figure emerged out of the lake from a far distance. Like a shadow of ghost that made its way to the front.

"Because this is the lake that connects to the land of the dead,

" answered Lucas. She blinked a couple of times before snapping her head to look at Lucas and then at the shadow of the figure who was gliding across the surface.

"When the soul is collected from here, some of the souls make their way through the gates and there are some who are lost in the river of the dead who pretty much end up here.

"

Didn't that just mean that the girl Barron was looking for had not made her way through the gates and she ended up somewhere in between? Asked Belle to herself and in time, she was able to see that it was a young girl who was coming towards them.

"Ophelia!

" Barron exclaimed when he noticed the girl who looked like a white ghost.

Belle had never seen an actual ghost before which was why she stood stunned. To take a better look, she took a few steps towards Barron. Even though the girl, the soul was white and transparent like smoke, she could tell that she was a beautiful girl and somewhere it made her smile that Barron had a soft spot for the person without his knowledge.

"Is that you, Arron?

" asked the soul hearing Barron's voice. The ghost looked at Belle who had not spoken a word and then looking at the rabbit that was jumping on its feet.

"Ophelia, you are here!

" Barron took a step closer, his rabbit ears that had been down suddenly stood up at the sight of the girl. As much as Barron had tried to keep calm on their way here, his excitement on seeing the girl was obvious.

The ghost of the girl looked down at the rabbit, her eyebrows furrowing together to ask,

"What happened to you?

" It was because Barron was in a rabbi form which was much more appealing in sight compared to the Grim reapers' form as the girl never knew who he was.

"It's a long story,

" said Barron avoiding himself from lying to the girl,

"Where did you disappear to? We were supposed to go out in the meadow the next day.

"

The girl gave him an apologetic smile,

"I am sorry I couldn't keep up my word about it. I was looking forward to it too,

" it appeared that she was thinking something, as if in concentration,

"I thought I still had time.

"

Barron looked at Ophelia, his ears still standing and he moved to the side so that he could stand in front of her. He was the one who was supposed to reap her but someone else had taken that opportunity from him.

"Do you remember what happened?

" asked Barron.

"They said I had to die,

" said Ophelia, looking down at the waves of smoke around her,

"Said something about stars that were being crossed,

" the ghost's words caught everyone's attention,

"Did you know that I was a witch?

" she asked and Barron nodded his head,

"I was constantly worried that someone would find out. That I would be burned and charred to dust. But I didn't know I would be killed by my own.

"

Barron's ears that were standing straight faltered and lowered itself slightly,

"Who was it?

"

"My father,

" whispered the girl.

"Your father loved you. It couldn't be him,

" said Barron but the girl shook her head. With the season of Winter still hovering over the land of Bonelake, a cold wind blew across the lake of bones as snowflakes started to fall from the sky.

"I thought it was a lie too when I witnessed it. After you left the room, to attend your duties, my father arrived an hour later. He spoke about his life with my mother and me. He came with the news that my mother had passed away. He kept speaking about the stars and I still don't get it. Speaking about the stars being alive and dead. The next minute, he killed me with a pillow over my face,

" said Ophelia,

"And I stood there, seeing him pull away the pillow once I had stopped breathing.

"

.

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