Chapter 14: The Young Soldier
The next day after their encounter with Bolliva, Jace and Juniper returned to the Hollow Mountain Tavern, still shaken by the dark reaper’s threat. Despite the danger they faced, they knew they couldn’t stop now. Jace’s time was running out, and they needed more aura orbs if he was ever going to return to the land of the living.
The Grim Reaper had told them of their next mission: a teenage soldier, long dead, whose final wish had gone unfulfilled. His unfinished business wasn’t for himself but for his family—he had died without being able to say goodbye, and the regret weighed heavily on his spirit.
As Jace and Juniper sat at the table in the tavern, the warm glow of the aura orbs they’d collected so far cast faint light around them. The air was still thick with the feeling of lingering dread from their recent battles.
Juniper looked over at Jace, who was floating slightly above his chair, looking pensive.
“Are you ready for this one?” she asked softly.
Jace sighed, shaking his head.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever really ready to help a family find closure after losing their son, but we don’t have a choice.”
Juniper nodded in agreement, sensing the weight of the mission.
“It’s going to be tough, but we’ll get through it. We’ve gotten this far, haven’t we?”
Jace’s lips tugged into a small smile, and he floated closer to her. “Yeah. We have. I just hope this one doesn’t break us.”
Just as they were about to head out on their mission, a soft, sorrowful voice filled the room.
“You’re here to help me, aren’t you?”
Juniper gasped softly, and Jace turned to see the figure of a young man materialize before them. He was dressed in a soldier’s uniform from an era long past, his face pale but his expression filled with both hope and sadness.
The young soldier, no older than seventeen, looked at them with hollow eyes.
“My name is William. I... I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my family before I died. I need to let them know that I thought of them until the very end.”
Juniper’s heart ached at the sight of him. He was just a boy, really. She couldn’t imagine the pain his family must have felt, never knowing their son’s final thoughts.
“We’re here to help, William,” Juniper said softly, stepping forward. “What can we do?”
William reached into his ghostly coat and pulled out a worn, crumpled letter.
“This... this letter, I wrote it just before the battle where I died. It never reached my parents. I need you to deliver it to them. I know they’ve been gone for a long time now, but I believe their spirits are still tied to the place where we used to live.”
Jace took the letter, feeling its weight even though it was only a spectral object.
“We’ll take it to them, William. I promise.”
William’s ghostly form flickered as he nodded.
“Thank you. I’ve waited so long for someone to help me.”
With that, William’s form dissipated, leaving Jace and Juniper standing alone once more.
Juniper glanced at Jace, her expression solemn.
“This one feels different, doesn’t it? Like... there’s more at stake.”
Jace nodded. “Yeah. I feel it too.”
---
The journey to William’s family home was quiet, the two of them lost in their own thoughts as they navigated the eerie, fog-filled landscape. The house itself stood at the edge of a long-forgotten village, its windows shattered, and the roof caving in. Time had not been kind to it.
“This is it,” Jace said, floating toward the crumbling building. “William’s family used to live here.”
Juniper wrapped her arms around herself as a chill passed through her. “It’s so... sad. You can feel the loss in the air.”
As they approached the front door, a soft wind stirred the tattered curtains inside. Jace hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open. The interior was just as dilapidated as the outside, with furniture covered in dust and cobwebs hanging from the ceiling.
“Hello?” Juniper called out, her voice echoing in the empty space. “Is anyone here?”
For a moment, there was only silence. Then, slowly, the figures of two older ghosts appeared in the dim light. They were William’s parents—his mother and father—both pale and transparent, their expressions frozen in grief.
“Who are you?” William’s father asked, his voice hoarse and distant.
“We’re here to help,” Jace replied gently. “We have something from your son. William.”
At the mention of their son’s name, the two ghosts seemed to stir, their eyes widening in recognition. William’s mother stepped forward, her voice trembling. “William... our boy... is he still...?”
“He’s still a ghost, like you,” Juniper said softly. “But he wanted us to give you this.” She nodded to Jace, who held up the letter.
William’s father reached out with shaking hands to take the letter, and as soon as his ghostly fingers touched it, the room seemed to change. The light grew brighter, and the air felt less heavy. The parents read the letter in silence, their faces a mixture of sorrow and love.
As they finished reading, William’s mother let out a quiet sob. “He thought of us... he thought of us even as he faced death.”
William’s father nodded, his voice choked with emotion. “He wanted us to know... to say goodbye.”
Juniper felt her own eyes sting with tears as she watched the reunion, her heart breaking for the family who had been separated for so long.
“William wanted you to know that he never stopped loving you,” Jace said gently. “He died thinking of you both.”
The parents looked at each other, their hands clasped together. They had waited so long for this moment—for the closure they never had in life.
“We can rest now,” William’s father whispered, his voice filled with peace. “We can finally rest.”
As they spoke, the figures of William’s parents began to fade, their forms growing fainter with each passing second. Juniper and Jace watched in silence as the two spirits finally disappeared, their unfinished business resolved at last.
A soft glow filled the room as an aura orb materialized, floating gently into Jace’s hand. He looked at it for a moment, then back at Juniper, his expression a mixture of sadness and relief.
“That was... harder than I thought it would be,” Jace admitted, his voice low.
Juniper nodded, wiping away a tear. “But we did it. They can finally be at peace.”
Jace floated closer to her, his ghostly form shimmering slightly. “You okay?”
Juniper gave him a small, bittersweet smile. “Yeah. It’s just... seeing something like that, it makes you realize how important it is to tell the people you love how much they mean to you.”
Jace’s eyes softened as he looked at her. “I don’t need a letter to tell you how I feel, Juniper. You know that, right?”
Juniper’s heart skipped a beat at the sincerity in his voice. “I know, Jace.”
He smiled, floating a little closer until he was hovering just inches from her. “Good.”
For a moment, they just stood there in the quiet, the weight of the mission lifting off their shoulders. But the threat of Bolliva still loomed over them, and they both knew this was only the beginning of their journey.
As they left the house, the air felt lighter, the sky a little clearer. They had completed another mission, but there were still many more to go before Jace could return to the land of the living.
And as they walked side by side, their bond growing stronger with each passing day, they knew they would face whatever came next together.
---
Back at the Hollow Mountain Tavern, the Grim Reaper waited for them, his hollow eyes watching as they returned. He said nothing, but the slightest nod of approval passed over his skeletal face as he saw the aura orb in Jace’s hand.
“You’re getting closer,” the Grim Reaper said, his voice echoing through the tavern.
Jace nodded, his hand tightening around the orb. “But we’re not done yet.”
The Grim Reaper’s eyes flickered with something like amusement. “No. Not yet.”
And with that, Jace and Juniper prepared for their next mission, knowing that each step brought them closer to the ultimate showdown with Bolliva and closer to fulfilling the promise Jace had made to Juniper.