Okay people, let's try this again shall we! I actually had two ways of writing the sequel to The Child Born from Darkness, so since the other way is just too danged confusing, I'm going with plan B! Though, if you read what little I wrote on this story before it was deleted, you might see something familiar. Both ways of writing this story had the same ending, so that won't change. I just hope this will be a little bit easier to follow. I've learned that, no matter how cool and awesome it looks in your head as you are writing a story, it don't mean a hill of beans if you confuse your readers! So, with that in mind, what do you say we "take two" on the sequel! If you left a review on the deleted version of this story, please, please, please, do so on this one too! That was the one thing I hated about having to delete the other story, I lost you guys' great reviews! But, I'd rather start over and do this, and the first story, some justice! So, without further waiting, here is the Prologue…
Death, it comes to us all. With some, Death swoops down upon them with a mighty thunder. With others, it floats like a breeze inside a window. No matter what form Death may take, it is assured that Death will come. It is absolute. The moment we are born, we are dying. But the most ironic thing about death is that is it easy, as easy as sleeping. Living, now that is much harder. It should not be death that we fear, but living that commands our respect and fear.
At least that is what I'm telling myself in my last moments of life. That is what I'm telling myself as my chest rises and falls at an inhuman rate, because my lungs cannot get enough oxygen. It is what I'm telling myself as the man I love holds my body in a tight grip, screaming his words of sorrow, his words of pain, into my pale face. Death is so close to me now, waiting for what he believes belongs to him. I have escaped his grasps far too long and I know that it is time to pay my dues, for no one can outwit Death.
Has it been only a week since my life changed, since I learned the full truth, a week since I fell into the hole in that cave and came face to face with my own mortality? I take what few precious moments I have and think back on that innocent, naive little girl I used to be. The girl I used to be, before Death showed me the truth. In the darkest recesses of a cave, he showed me a world that should have never been and yet, I know it existed. It is that world that occupies my last moments on this earth.
Everything I did, every horrible thing I went back in time to change, was it all for nothing? Was it some vain attempt to think I could actually have that happy ending we always hear about as children? Everything has a cost, every action a consequence. What I did, what I changed has huge costs and consequences, yet I know it was worth it. Though I will not survive the night, I know they will. Life can be so unfair sometimes, yet would we go back and change the chance to have lived? I can only speak for myself and I say…no. Everything up to this moment has been worth it.
The one question that has never left me this whole week was would I go back to the way things were when I was in the dark about what really happened. Would I want to choose not to remember it all? I…remember…everything! I remember the orphanage I grew up in, remember the day my angel came and took me away to Hogwarts. My years at Hogwarts, I remember those too. I remember the horrors of my years but also the joys. Every single death I witnessed is tattooed upon my heart for all eternity. I remember every single tear that slipped down my face for the lives that were snatched away from me. I remember every waking moment with Severus Snape. From the moment I first laid eyes on him, to the moment his body breathed its last, just his memory alone has been worth everything else. But I remember how I changed it all, how I changed their fates. With that changing, I called down Death's wrath upon my head without even knowing it. Though that innocent girl was changed forever the day Death showed me what I had done…the point is that I remember!
Snape is the one holding my broken body tightly now, the one that is trying in vain to win an unwinnable battle. I am lost to him, for I only have a few minutes more. Death is closing in, waiting to take me from him forever. I do no regret changing the course of history, thus changing everyone's future, no matter the consequences. He will be safe, they all will be safe. My love sacrifice has spilled over into this new world, and Death cannot take out his vengeance upon them. It is my only saving grace at the moment.
As the last few breaths leave my body, I realize that I wouldn't go back to the girl I was before falling into the hole in the cave. I don't want to go back to being in the dark. Remembering has made my last week on earth worth so much more than it would have been had I not known the reasons my life is forfeit. Though I have lost so much innocence in knowing the truth, in knowing what really happened, I gained an understanding of what true love and sacrifice really is. I only wish to ease Snape's pain, all of their pain, but I am not afforded such luxuries. Someday, he will be alright. Snape is stronger than me, always has been, for I could not live in a world where he didn't exist. He, on the other hand, will find a way to go on.
I try to raise my hand so as to touch his face, but I have no strength left. I want him to kiss me, but my mind cannot form words to ask. Their faces, all that have gathered around me, are becoming dark, as if shadows are standing in their way. There is a presence behind them, one I know all too well. Death is here, reaching his hand out for me to take, as if we are close friends. I am not ready to go, not just yet.
With what willpower I have left, I move my eyes a fraction towards Snape. He sees the movement and reacts immediately, calling my name urgently. I am reminded of the night I lost him, yet our roles are reversed this time. It is I that lays broken and shattered, and it is he that begs me to tell him what to do. It is he that begs me to stay with him. I do only what I can do in this situation, which is to beg him with my eyes to let me go as he did with me in that world that should never have existed. He realizes what I am asking of him, but I am met with the harsh shaking of his head. Death does not need his permission to take what is his, but I do.
My body begins to shake, as Snape tries, in vain, to stop the inevitable from happening. Death slowly begins to walk towards me, throwing all my loved ones into complete darkness. It is only Death's face that I see, his eyes that I stare in to. He has come seeking payment for the souls I took from him. Again, I think how willingly I give him what he seeks, for as long as they live, my death will count for something.
Death is standing over me now, our eyes meeting. Snape screams my name, yet to my deadening ears it sounds as only that of a whisper. Death looks at me, as though he feels sorrow for my predicament, but I know this not to be true, for he is the reason I am in this state…no, I am the reason I'm in the state.
"It is time, Aileen. The debt must be paid," Death whispers.
The old saying was right, death is easier than living. As the wails and cries around me grow in volume, as Snape shakes my body in despair and rage, I finally give in to Death, paying my debt that I've owed him for so long. He takes me in to his side, welcoming me as an old friend might welcome another. It really is as easy as going to sleep.
Finally in the waning hours, on the seventh day, I am no more.
Oh yeah…this is gonna be so much more fun to write! (Insert evil laugh here!) There will be more to come very soon!