This fanfic happens to be a prequel of my other story; Eternally. Here, this story tells the tale of how Alfred became the Grim Reaper and several things that happened along the way leading up to his and Arthur's meeting. Be warned, you might cry a little bit…just a bit….
And yeah, I might've bended history a bit for my own purposes, so there might be historical inaccuracies. ^^' Ah, well! Enjoy and review! owo
Chapter One: Rebirth
The so called new world was supposed to be a land of wealth, discovery; a place where settles could start over in a new life; forgetting their past troubles or anything else they were to have left behind in England. However, for the settlers of Roanoke, it was a living hell. This was the second attempt at colonizing the area, and even though Indian relations had been well as opposed to the fore settlers of the land, there seemed to be a strange, lethal sickness floating around. No treatments seemed to be helping at all; every week, one man or woman seemed to fall prey to the illness' clutches.
Despite their hardships, young colonist Alfred Jones remained strong; doing his best to aid the best to the elderly and comfort the sick as best he could. He chopped the wood for shelter and firewood, trying to please the townsfolk. He wasn't about to let this settlement, like the previous Roanoke colony to fail.
And in return the townspeople admired him, urging the few women to try and marry him. "He's a fine gentleman." they would say. "It'd be a shame to waste someone like him."
However, no one would suspect that when a woman tried to court him, he would embarrassing turn the other way, shaking his head. He had a secret. A secret that he knew would bring only shame and scorn to the family. Alfred had no desire to settle down with a woman. In fact, his eyes were on that of a man; a man nearly about his age. His name was Arthur and he in return, thought of the colonist the same way. Whenever their eyes fell on one another, the same feelings erupted from underneath their skin. But, in the eyes of the Church, they were only to be seen as friends. Despite this, they met secretly after everyone had gone into their cabins.
While everything around the two lovers just got worse, they remained strong. Until the first signs of illness showed up upon Arthur's face. It wasn't long before the poor colonist became bedridden, becoming worse every passing day. Alfred did his best to provide him with comfort any chance he could, and yet, Arthur seemed to be slowly slipping away from him. The young colonist silently damned and demanded what was causing the source of this unknown sickness to show itself.
And soon enough, he got his wish.
There, emerging out of the thick fog was a peculiar hooded figure. His movements were smooth and ghost like. Mothers pulled their children close while even the fiercest of dogs backed behind their owners, watching with just as much curiosity and fear as the humans. The ghastly presence of the figure convinced the people that this couldn't be a human being like themselves; no….it was rather something all people knew and feared what would happen to them eventually.
The thing stopped in its tracks, causing nearly everyone to hold their breaths. Suspense lingered in the atmosphere, everything seemed to have stopped. Then, in a deep, raspy, yet overwhelming voice, the figure spoke;
"People of this colony; give to me your young ones, your old, your weak and dying…yourselves….so that I may take them to the other side."
No one in the colony budged a bit, everyone was too frightened to say a word or to step forward and confront the mysterious figure. In those tense moments, Death heard a cough coming from inside the cabin the people were all gathered around. Gilding across the ground, everyone who was in his path to the door immediately parted for him. For even the slightest touch might end their lives once and for all.
It proceeded to enter the room, where Arthur now laid. Crouched next to him was Alfred, staying faithfully by the other's dying side as he placed a warm cloth over his head. When he felt death's presence, he completely turned white and whipped around. Oh, he knew who it was; but instead jumping immediately to his feet or shrinking down with fear, he stayed rooted to the spot.
The reaper motioned Alfred to step aside with the blade of his scythe. The colonist still didn't move an inch away; instead he threw himself upon his lover's pale figure.
"No, I won't let you take him!"
"It is his time to leave…he will never recover, nor will the little girl in the other cabin….in fact, this entire colony was doomed from the start, one by one….you will all slowly perish…." What it said nearly made the colonist sick to his stomach. In due time, they all…every last one of them were to die at death's feet?
"I beg thee; please have mercy. Leave all these people alone. Take away the plague you have bought upon them so that they might grow to see their grandchildren and even great grandchildren."
"I cannot stop what has been done." Death stated simply, becoming impatient at the man's stubbornness.
"Then take me; take me away from the Earth in exchange!"
"You have bravery boy, but one soul of a young man is not equivalent to entire population of people."He inched closer to Arthur's pale body. "There is nothing you can trade for…" At this, Alfred clutched the body tighter, tears dropping onto it. They weren't just for his lover; they were for also him and everyone else…
"Then how about I offer to take your place; release you from your duties in exchange for leaving them alone?"
A long pause followed soon after. Alfred could feel his own heartbeat pump to the steady, yet terrifying tapping of the reaper's fingers.
"Boy, a very foolish choice that would be. If you were to be a reaper….you would cease to have any joyful emotions. You would feel no love, and nor would you have it in return. Everyone that the blade punctures would be a result of your own doing. The only companion will be you sorrow and your weapon. You'd be better off dead than live a life like that."
"Please…." the man moaned, sinking to his knees. "I want this…..I want to save him…."
Another pause followed soon after. After some contemplation, the figure finally spoke.
"Once you accept…you'll never be able to take it back, no matter how gruesome it gets. Are you sure you're willing to take the position? Or are you uncertain of what you want?"
Alfred's head snapped up, looking at the reaper with such fierce determination in those blue eyes that even Death himself felt afraid for a second. He rose to his feet, standing between the body and the other.
"I know what I want." he stated. "If it can save lives, I'll accept."
"…You'll never be able to go to heaven." The Reaper sneered as if to drive the boy away from continuing on with this plan of his. "Isn't it your kind's dream to visit the better place beyond this world?" The colonist gave a bitter smile in return.
"I wasn't going there anyway." He made a slight glance towards Arthur before looking back at Death. "Do we have a deal or not?"
The Reaper slowly raised an emaciated hand for the young lad to shake. "Remember, this was of your own doing…" A few seconds later, Alfred felt his hand slip into the other's cold one. He gasped. All the cold from just that hand seemed to be spreading throughout his entire body. The feeling filled his arms, legs, and mind. He could feel his heart becoming chilled, unnecessary for him to continue on his existence. The world around him became nothing but a dizzying blur, and that Alfred was sure that he would collapse onto the ground, dead; and that Death had lured him into giving up his own life.
Then the cold stopped, only to be replaced by stabbing pains that jabbed at his entire body. Alfred screamed out in agony, dropping down to the floor and twisting around with all sorts of pain. And for a second, he could hear more than just his screams, but screams of the innocent, the guilty, men and women. Elder and Child. It was then at that moment when he was in so much pain that he would rather die than experience anymore than he had already had.
And like a heart that just pumped its last bit of life, it stopped. The colonist laid there on the ground motionless, as if he were dead. Everything around him felt cold, unwelcoming, like he'd unwillingly stepped right into the deepest layers of the mountains. He couldn't move. Was he dead? Was he alive? Or rather, was he somewhere in between the two? He finally, yet unsteadily, rose to his feet, glancing at his surroundings with piercing sapphire eyes. They were indeed the same, but….something felt different about them. The trees moaned from outside, telling of their woeful tales of Indian Wars and diseases it had witnessed. The wood creaked below him, groaning about the various people who had stepped on it. Even the grass seemed to have a tale or two. In this new startling life, everything had come alive…
For him to destroy.
