Emily pondered this before nodding, it was a fair idea. She walked over to the table once more and wrapped her fingers around the paper sack that Mrs. Plum had placed the food and drink in before gently touching Vivian's shoulder. "How would you like to spend the night at my place?" Emily offered a smile to which Vivian could only halfway reciprocate.

The young girl got up from her seat and took Emily's proffered hand, shuddering slightly as it was the hand striped of skin, leaving only tattered remains of a silken glove.

"I'll see you tomorrow Mrs. Plum," Emily called over her shoulder with a wave. "Have a good evening!"

Upon the cobblestone streets they walked, Vivian trudging glumly behind Emily, both noticing the streets, barren of children and homes only filled with deceased adults, a steady click following their movements down the streets. Vivian Bijou Cecilian only stared at her shoes, occasionally glancing up when Emily made a different movement or sound.

She really didn't want to cry, these hot tears burning her eyes weren't like the ones at the cemetery, fueled by a raw, overwhelming emotion, these were searing tears of realization. The realization of her current reality as finalized by the hole gaping her chest, which a breeze blew through. Vivian couldn't tell if it was hot or cold or what it was and this only added another scoop to the already triple scoop ice cream cone of horror and devastation, topped lightly with nuts and chocolate covered cherries. These tears were only held back by looking forward, long and hard, instead of at her feet, which led her to indirectly look at her fatal wound.

Emily however was somewhere else mentally. She too, was lost within the mental scape of near insanity, but rather than dwelling upon matters of death and emotional distraught, she was dwelling upon what might have happened to her had she never died or had Victor died and married her. She had always liked the thought of being a mother, after all, she was practically one to her many sisters and brothers at a time, since she was the eldest daughter (and only only-child) she was all that her family had after the death of her mother when she was thirteen.

Would she have loved Barkins enough to even lay with him? At the time of course she would have and their children would have been quite handsome indeed, how joyous her brothers and sisters have been to be aunts and uncles. In its own equal right, would Victor and she have taken in one of the few lost souls of the dead children? Could they have ended up Vivian's parents in the land of undead.

Emily had to blink, the thoughts hot and vivid in her mind's eye, turning a corner and backtracking the two of them when she realized they had walked two blocks past her flat.

Vivian blinked and looked up at Emily with knit brows. "Where are we going exactly?" She questioned crossley her grasp slackening within Emily's hand.

Emily slowed her steps and looked down at the small child, whose hair played in all directions yet still maintained a beautiful and managed air about it. "I'm sorry, we walked right past it. I just got lost in my thoughts is all."

Vivian made a small noise of acknowledgment and followed along, her gaze becoming distracted by the few skeletons walking down the street, some of whom appeared to be singing or cheering something lowly into the night, all of it about the new arrival, the new child, and their bride, who had taken her in. She paused mentally and looked up at Emily. Sure, she'd never been to a wedding herself but a white dress and lace in her hair? Could this possibly be the woman from her uncle's story? Vivian brightened at that thought, because of how desperately sad and yet romantic the entire idea of being killed upon your wedding to wait for your true love to set you free from a curse.

"Here we are," Emily said, leading Vivian up some stairs and opening the door to a small, one story home. "It's not much but it suits me."

Vivian was curious as to why the skeletal woman hadn't needed to unlock her door, but decided not to ask as she stood in the threshold before the closed door.

Emily wasn't wrong about the house not being much. To one side of the room ran a counter top with stove and sink, an ice box at the very end of it, a small table with two chairs pushed up towards the opposite wall, and a little sofa, in the shape of a coffin, sitting towards the back of the room between a dining hutch and two doors. Emily led Vivian towards these first doors and showed her what was behind the one closest to the sofa, which contained a little shower, a sink, and a few dressers topped with vases of dried and dead flowers. Beyond that room was a guest room, which was really just filled with boxes of junk and other knickknacks and finally in the room nearest the kitchen was Emily's room, with a decent sized bed and dressers, topped with more potted plants while a writing desk was pushed into the corner across from the nightstand, holding a few personal mementos.

Vivian stared at the dwellings which she would remain resident to until a more permanent place was found for her. She rocked nervously on her feet and watched as Emily took one of the pillows from the bed, and a thin blanket from the foot of it.

"You can stay here tonight." Emily gave her a soft smile moved out of the room with her loot, leaving Vivian to stare a moment before her senses realigned with her mind.

"Wait, what about you? This is your room isn't it?" Vivian asked turning around to face Emily, who only nodded from the kitchen-dining room-living room, making a small bed on the sofa.

"Yes it is, but you're my guest. Please." Emily insisted, fluffing the pillow and walking back into her room to do the same and make the large bed more inviting for the child.

Vivian fidgeted at the door way, looking from the couch to the bed Emily was offering, the thought of her refusing she knew to be rude but so to she thought was the thought of her sleeping in her hostess's bed. Finally she scurried over to the bed and stood by the nightstand near where Emily was, with trembling limbs Vivian forced herself to look up into those blue eyes and swallowed before speaking. "It's rude if I kick you out of your bed, but it's also rude if I refuse to sleep here. I'll sleep here on the one condition that you don't go anywhere." Said she with wide blue eyes, which quickly fell to the floor, expecting a hand to strike across her face as her father always did when she explained her reasoning for not doing something without something else happening first.

Emily stared at her a moment and watched how Vivian hid her gaze and her face and trembled and while it connected with her outburst in the Cemetery it still was puzzling towards Emily. "Alright then," She said as she walked out of the room and into the wash room. "C'mon then if you don't want to sleep in your clothes."

Vivian Bijou Cecilian blinked, looked up, and blinked again, Emily hadn't hit her, in fact she was agreeing to what she had said and was offering her sleep wear, this seemed good, Vivian could only hope anyways, so she walked into the wash room to find Emily rummaging through one of the dressers and pulling out a few night shirts and gowns.

"I don't know what will fit you, but you're welcome to try anything. I'll just be a minute, " said Emily as she picked up what could only be her own pajamas and walked behind a changing screen. Vivian looked at all the different clothes laid out for her and held each one up before folding them back up and setting them on top of the dresser where they had formerly laid. Finally after examining all of the different shirts, which is all Emily owned the would fit Vivian, she picked up a cotton night shirt with long sleeves and a small neckline. Once decided, she took off her sweater and carefully unbuttoned her school shirt, folding them and laying them in a pile beside the laid out clothes, her skirt followed along with her shoes and socks, although out of bashfulness and shame of her marred body did she keep her underclothes on. The night shirt hung off her shoulders and the sleeves were clear down to her knees but it was comfortable.

Emily stepped out from behind the curtain, her heels dangling from her boney fingers and her dress draped over an arm, her own pajamas lose and flowey silk, something that could have been a wedding dress in its simplicity in a modern era. She giggled when she saw the girl in her oversized sleepwear and smiled.

Vivian huffed and had there been blood flowing in her veins and an intact heart to move the crimson throughout her body her cheeks would've flushed, and her lip became caught in her teeth as she gnawed frustratedly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Emily tried to stifle her giggles as she held open the door for Vivian, who quickly and quietly scurried into the bed and ducked under the covers which Emily went over to and fixed. "After we see elder Gutknecht tomorrow morning maybe we can look through town and perhaps get you some things if you'd like, and look for some relatives of yours..." Emily grew quiet at that thought, some of her relatives, she had really liked the past few hours, it felt nice to live with someone, or even have guests who didn't exactly pry at how you died or danced around the subject or had lives of their own, families and the ilk. It wasn't that Emily didn't but her mother was dead and not a trace of her could be found by Elder Gutknecht in their province, and any other family members she knew of were still alive.

As she watched Vivian drift into sleep, on her side with those shallow breaths of sleep you take, in a way that you still do out of reflex after you die just because your brain still thinks you're alive, the thought of how nice it had been and how she really didn't want any relatives to be found bled away. Vivian deserved to be happy with people she loved, not stuck with someone who was a permanent bachelorette.

Then as Emily laid there and watched Vivian sleep she frowned, after everything, didn't she deserve to be selfish? She'd given Victor up to little miss living, albeit she was happy for the although it still cut to give away her unofficial husband and being a wife if even for such a short period of time was nice, and she lived with that now, knowing deep down they probably had children of their own. Even though she raised all her siblings she desperately wanted to have a child of her own, to feel and watch them grow. But she was dead and often times dead children just wandered or lived with relatives, hardly ever did they stay with strangers whom they met on the streets no matter how kind they were.

Emily sighed and grumbled, rolling over to stare out the window instead of at Vivian, hoping she might get a bit of sleep with whatever night remained.


Alright, yes this is a little late, sorry about that but I've been busy.

A quick shout out to my best friend who just celebrated their birthday, darn they're just so old now they are ancient. (They're WAY older than me (not really lol)) so happy birthday to you!

Happy new year to all of you guys and thanks for waiting patiently I know I haven't updated since last year lol.

So without further ado, enjoy, read on, stay healthy and happy and could you maybe leave a little review with your thoughts? Please?