Chapter 1

"Why weren't we told sooner?"

"I never suspected.. there weren't any signs... she's always been a very lively girl - always very energetic..."

"How long? How much longer, Doctor?"

"Three weeks. A month at the most."

"No... You can't be serious. Check again. Check again!"

She sat there on the cold bench outside of Doctor Sader's office. Her mother's voice rose, louder than she'd ever heard it. Dr Sader murmured something she couldn't catch. For a moment, it was silent. Then Callis began yelling again. "There has to be a cure. She has insurance - no, this can't be possible - not my Agatha..."

The girl felt herself shiver once. For the past weeks, she'd felt worse and worse. It was as if a chill had slowly crept up on her. After one day when she'd stared at her homework for over an hour, her mother had finally scheduled an appointment with their doctor. Agatha stared at the wall in front of her, the people walking through the hallway blurs. She heard the facts, knew what was in front of her, whispering into her ear, but she couldn't believe. A dull numbness settled over her. The time would come when the realization would hit her hard in the stomach, but for now, it felt like something in the far, far future. The fact that... she shook her head, unable to think about it.

It took her a few minutes to realize her mother's voice had changed. Before, it was angry and accusing. Now it was low and pleading: "What can I do? Is there anything that would help her?"

"Rest would be best, really. Make sure she's comfortable. Keep exercise at a minimum. It's very likely that she'll grow more tired as the days go by..."

Their voices dropped. Agatha stared down at her pasty, pale hands. The minutes passed until the door opened. She turned and saw her mother's dark brown eyes fill with tears before she said tightly, "Agatha, dear, let's go home." She stood up and followed her out of the small hospital. Her mother gripped her hand firmly as they walked up to their car and drove away.

They were silent as the car drove down the streets. Agatha glanced over once to see her mother's face white as a ghost. It became obvious that her mother wasn't going to bring up what had happened in the hospital. She closed her eyes and remembered Dr Sader's reassuring voice as Callis went over what Agatha had been feeling like for the past months.

The silence soon became unbearable. She glanced at the clock and imagined a timer ticking away the short days she had left.

"Mother, I heard what he said."

Callis gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Don't lose hope, Agatha," said her mother, voice gentle. She was treating her as if Agatha was made of glass - fragile and about to break at the slightest nudge. "You just get some rest when we get home, okay? Don't worry about your exams next week."

Agatha thought of the Doctor's words: "It's very likely that she'll grow more tired as the days go by."

A fire began to burn inside her chest. It simply wasn't fair. Agatha had turned sixteen only a month ago. She was a good daughter - she always did well in school; she never smoked and only drank wine twice; and she always tried to be kind to those around her. Agatha thought of the girls like Beatrix and Reena at her school, who only accepted the prettiest and richest into their small group. There was nothing about her that suggested that she should be punished in any way.

But out of the two hundred people in her school, she was the one diagnosed with an incurable illness. It didn't matter what the Doctor said. It didn't matter what her mother told her in small whispers.

Nothing could change the fact that she was going to die.

Agatha found to her horror that she was actually crying. Her vision blurred and she swiped away the tears. Now the knowledge that her life was going to end hit her hard. There was still so much she hadn't done. There was so much that she wanted to do. She wanted to taste exotic foods that she'd never try now, visit famous landmarks that she'd never see.

She caught sight of her face in the side mirror. Her messy black hair hung over her face like a shroud. Panic pulled at her heart as she remembered Dr Sader telling her mother to make her comfortable. She'd couldn't spend the next few weeks lying in her bed, possibly not even stepping outside of her house. She - she couldn't do that. It would crush her, barely seeing the sunlight or anyone besides her family.

Doctor Sader predicted that she'd be tired. But right now, she felt anything but that. Her heart was beating as hard as if she'd just run a mile. She wouldn't let this disease rule her and control her actions for the rest of her life. She wouldn't.

Agatha forced the tears away and looked up to see that they had been parked at their driveway for over five minutes. Her mother was looking at her worriedly. "Do you want to eat lunch now, Agatha?" she asked. She was looking at her like that again, in her cautious, sympathetic way.

Agatha couldn't bring herself to say anything. A defiance began to brew inside of her. "Yes, that would be fine. I'm starving," said Agatha loudly. She opened the door of the car as confidently as she could.

She knew Callis was still staring at her in surprise as she walked up to the door to their house. That was fine. She just had to show her mother that her sickness wasn't going to change her. In fact, it wouldn't even bother her. The inklings of a plan began to grow as they walked into their small, two story house.

Agatha wondered whether it would sound crazy when she told her mother about her decision, before dismissing it. She always behaved rashly. This was just the icing on top of the cake.

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Agatha looked down at the salad her mother had placed at their table. It had nothing but lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes - there wasn't even any dressing. She held back a sigh. "Mom, you do know that it's not going to matter about what I'm eating, right?"

Her mother's eyes widened. "I just want you to have a healthy lunch." Her voice seemed to tremble for a second.

Agatha opened her mouth to point something out - that it didn't matter what she ate, not really - when she caught sight of the expression on her mother's face. Silently, she lifted her fork to her mouth and chewed.

The resolve deepened into determination. They could use her college funds for what she was going to plan. She felt a deep ache as she realized that all her hours walking dogs and babysitting children basically were all for nothing - not that she asked for much money in the first place. Agatha wondered briefly how much she'd earned for the past two years... During all those hours in the summer and the weekends working at something she'd never have.

Then she realized something. There was no way she'd do what she wanted by herself. And her mother would never be able to help her: she had her own job working as a teacher in elementary school. Agatha wondered whether she should just give up and resign herself to laying on her bed for the rest of her life.

She ignored the voice in her head urging her to just go to sleep or read a book. They could figure out the other details later. And so Agatha looked up from her plate, clearing her throat slightly. She saw Callis hastily pretend to be eating and sighed inwardly. "Mom, I have an idea," said Agatha hesitantly. She bit her lip, steeling herself, before continuing. "I know what the doctor advised." Agatha saw her mother open her mouth and continued quickly. "I know the symptoms of a cancer victim, I'm not blind. But..." She set down the fork and placed her hands on their brown, dark table. "I don't think I'll be able to watch the last days of my life pass away inside our house, Mom. I won't be able to just wait for my..."

Her voice wavered. She could sense Callis staring at her, even though she was staring at the table now. Agatha knew both of them were wondering whether she was going to say the word.

She plunged on. Of course there was no way she would be able to say the 'd' word.

"I want to see the world, mother," said Agatha finally. Her voice became formal as it always did when she was reciting a speech or in front of a crowd. Even now, her neck burned a mild red and she tried not to scratch it. She tried to review the sentence she had just said. Who even said something like that? Who could even truly 'see' the whole, entire world?

But she had less than a month to live. It would have to be enough.

"I want to go somewhere, visit and discover other places before it's too late. Gavaldon is fine - it's perfect..." Her voice broke off as she thought of her hometown. "But I want to... I can't explain it, I can't - "

Of course her mother wouldn't understand. Callis had lived in Gavaldon all her life, perfectly content with the life she was living. Agatha smeared away tears, a hot, sick feeling in her stomach.

She looked up to see her mother staring at something behind her. Agatha turned to see Callis gazing at... nothing. Her eyes seemed unfocused as she seemed to be thinking hard; then she said slowly, "I never told you where I grew up, did I?"

Agatha knew that her face had to show at least some confusion. Callis smiled slowly, a sweet, faraway one. Some of worry lines on her mother's face smoothed away, and her face suddenly seemed years younger. "I grew up in Netherwood, a town in Rhode Island," she continued. Rhode Island? That was states away. Why did her mother never tell her that?

"I wanted to live big. Become a scientist or a doctor. But I didn't have the money, and my parents weren't either, to go to a good college. I was accepted to one that was in Florida, hundreds of miles away. But there was no scholarship for me. So I went to a smaller college and got a degree. I thought" - pain flashed across Callis' face - "that I had found someone who I loved and who loved me back, but the relationship was doomed to last." Her mother took a breath. "I moved here to get a fresh start. It's been wonderful here, Agatha. And I never thought that it was so important I had to tell you when you were so young."

She reached across the table and took Agatha's cold hand. She didn't move away. "I understand. Know that I love you, Agatha, and that even if I didn't approve your idea - I would support you anyway." Callis beamed at her only daughter and finished, "I can apply for a sick day at work tomorrow, and then we have Saturday and Sunday. That should be enough time."

Agatha felt overwhelmed. Everything was moving too fast for her to keep up. She wanted to backtrack and carefully plan out everything for at least a week. But the invisible clock kept ticking away the seconds of her life, and she swallowed. Lifted her head. Smiled. And said, "Yes. That sounds wonderful."

For the next fifteen minutes, she explained everything that she'd thought of, her mother listening thoughtfully. They sat on a coach and drank chocolate milk together, Agatha absentmindedly stroking Reaper, her pet cat. It did sound a bit bold when she listed her whole plan - to visit the most famous cities in the world and try out new things in the space of a month - but now that her mother had agreed, Agatha was determined to see things to the end.

Her mother leaned back to sit down again. Her eyebrows creased as she came to the same realization that Agatha had thought of ten minutes before. "But, Agatha, dear, who would help you around? Not that you're not capable of taking care of yourself... but you're only sixteen. I want to help you - I really do - " Agatha smiled sadly as her mother rushed to explain herself. "You know what, Agatha, we'll get on airplanes and drive around, that'll be fun - "

"No, it's okay. You need to teach and take care of your students," replied Agatha softly. For some random reason, her mother's eyes filled with tears again and she pulled Agatha into a warm embrace. Reaper scratched both of them and Agatha hastily patted him; he jumped off of the couch and ran away. They both laughed until Agatha's stomach hurt.

Then Callis gasped. Agatha spotted the gleam in her mother's eyes and felt uncomfortable. The last time she'd looked like that, Agatha had ended up inviting everyone in fifth grade to her birthday party. Callis had mass produced over a hundred birthday invitation cards, but no one had come; she'd had a typo on the address and given everyone the wrong location. Before that, she'd tried to bake any type of sweets she could and managed to almost burn down their house. Their joke was that insurance would cover anything.

Agatha thought of her impending - she tried not to think of the word - death and realized somberly that no amount of money could save her now.

"I know Arthur, we talk almost every other week. He has a son, Agatha, I think you know who he is, and he's a senior, they have this trip that they're going to Disney World or something for a couple of days, almost a week." Agatha smiled as her mother continued talking rapidly, trying to finish her thought, but then her smile faded as Callis went on. "Then they're out of school. He's already applied for a college, and they've accepted him - and he won't have too much to do, I think - "

Agatha was already shaking her head. "There's no way he'll agree to come with me around the world," she exclaimed. Her mind was already buzzing as she desperately tried to think of excuses. "And the cost - it's too much. It's better if I just go alone or something."

Callis smiled thoughtfully. "I'm sure he won't mind. The Pendragon's are pretty rich. And you know, Agatha, I've known Arthur for over a decade. We've done favors for each other in the past."

Agatha felt herself shriveling up, literally. "But not ones like these," she said desperately. "Mom, you know that we hate each other, and he's an absolute idiot. I can't spend my last month with him," she cried, dropping her voice dramatically. "Mom..."

But Callis was too far gone with her plan, even after hearing her daughter's plea. "What was his name again?" said Callis thoughtfully.

Agatha groaned and buried her face in her hands, feeling another sharp twinge inside.

"Oh, yes. About Arthur's son." Callis pulled out her phone and finding the contact. "He's really a nice young man, Agatha. Don't worry, he'll be quite helpful and understanding."

"Mom..."

"Hello, Arthur! Oh, you heard from Sader? Yes, it's terrible. No, we've planned something quite different. And if your son doesn't mind helping, then... yes, yes. Thank you so much. Should he come over later?"

Callis finished the call after a few minutes, saying brightly, "Say hello to Tedros for me."

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This is my first fanfiction, so any reviews would be greatly appreciated! Tell me what you think :)

-CinnamonMaddie