A sadder and a wiser man

by Lothiriel84

Now he's the one that rolls the dice. - Written for Miss Peg and tromana as a part of the Great Stocking Swap on Paint It Red forum. A huge thank you to MerriWyllow for betaing my story.

A sadder and a wiser man

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner has always been his favorite poem, ever since he read it for the first time. He was just a boy back then, and yet was deeply affected by the scene where Death and Life-in-Death play dice for the souls of the Mariner's crew.

Now he's the one that rolls the dice. He decides who's going to live and who's going to die – a power which he enjoys immensely.

Death has always been called the grim reaper, but he's added his personal touch to such a clichéd image. Were he to choose an epithet for himself, he would go for something like the merry reaper; that's the reason why he leaves a smiling face painted in blood beside each body. If people are not smart enough to understand its meaning – well, that's none of his business.

Occasionally he plays the role of Life-in-Death as well; last time he's done it was the night he killed Patrick Jane's wife and daughter.

They are the albatross his long-time foe is still carrying around his neck. Being sorry is a far worse punishment than being dead, and he'd made sure that Mr. Jane learned it the hard way.

Now Patrick is a sadder but wiser man, and Red John takes all the credit for it.