*Merlin belongs to BBC. Not me.

Hunith stumbled after Death. The dark was complete and suffocating. After tripping over roots and other forest floor debris, she felt herself passing through a thin veil that chilled her to the bone. Now she carefully walked across a wooden floor.

It had been difficult following the personification of death. He was as loud as a shadow. His dark figure was impossible to differentiate from the night. He would have to occasionally call out to the dazed woman to signal the direction in which she should walk.

Hunith's eyes now registered a soft glow as she had begun to wonder if Death was just messing with her. Her pace increased.

Death's home was actually... nice. There was a fireplace with a small fire burning. Near the fireplace were two red, plush chairs, the color faded with the toll of time. While one chair looked comfortably worn, the other appeared stiff and covered with a thin layer of grime.

Death leaned down and added more kindle to the fire. Death then attempted to dust off the grimy chair. Unsuccessful, Death looked over at Hunith, who was warily standing on the fringe of darkness.

"Sorry for the mess." Death's shifting face smiled apologetically. "I don't have too many guests. I usually just escort them to...well, you'll find out later." He motioned toward the still-dirty chair. "Please, take a seat."

Hunith slowly walked over, still unsure of the situation. Finally deciding that fear was of no use to her at the moment, she plopped bitterly into her chair. "So, why am I so special?" she spat.

"Don't be so bitter Hunith. And do not doubt how special you are. Like Merlin, you are quite special."

Hunith immediately sat up, alert. Why was Death talking about her Merlin?

Death chuckled. "Do not worry for the boy. It is not his time...yet. He is very far down on my list." Hunith relaxed.

"Now, don't interrupt." Death said sternly. Hunith nodded cautiously. Death nodded back in acknowledgment.

"Please don't think about me as evil." Hunith's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"I don't know how I came to be. I just know that ever since the dawn of time, I've been Death. I've been dreaded and, in sad, desperate cases, wanted. I've always had this bag," he stated, patting the small knapsack that Hunith had not noticed until then.

"In it was a map and list, showing me who was to die and where they were. I have amazing capabilities. I only need to think about a place in order to be there. I can penetrate any fortress, cross any ocean, traverse thousands of miles in merely seconds... Anyway, few souls have caused me to invite them to my home. I can count the number of souls, including you, on one hand." Death raised a shifting hand and held up four fingers.

"The first was when I was still 'young'. It was the first child I ever had to take. He had a mop of muddy brown hair that matched his bark brown eyes. When I took him, my heart almost shattered. His mother was sobbing, his father stoically trying not to...and the boy, he sorrowfully told me, 'I don't want to leave yet.'" Death bowed his head in quiet despair.

Either he's a good actor, or he actually does have a heart. Poor dear... Hunith thought.

Death cleared his throat and looked back up, into the fire, which reflected in his flashing eyes. "I invited to my home that I had established not long ago. I gave him some treats and tried to explain what would come next. The boy did not understand until I had to bade him farewell.

"The next soul was the first victim of a crime. She had refused a scoundrel a kiss, and her throat was slit. She was completely terrified and may have become a malicious spirit had I not reached her soon. I soon comforted her and she easily passed this life.

"The next soul I invited was one you knew." Hunith looked up, surprised, eyes shining with the question, Who?

"It was Balinor." Hunith felt her heart skip a beat and the slumbering butterflies in her stomach awaken once more.

"He seemed to sad to leave life behind, but he accepted it. He seemed to be at ease. Unlike the others, he contentedly met me. He even shook my hand." Death chuckled.

Hunith smiled, of course Balinor would just smile and shake Death's hand.

"When one meets a man so charismatic, you just have to invite him over. He talked about everything," Death said.

That man could talk day and night without taking a single breath. Hunith grinned.

"Especially about you and his newly discovered son." Hunith stopped grinning. Merlin knew about Balinor? He met Balinor? And he never told her?

Death nodded understandingly. "Merlin did not tell you because Balinor died before his eyes and he could not shed a single tear, for Arthur was with him."

Hunith's heart ached at the thought.

"I have invited you here simply because I was wondering if Balinor was telling the truth about you. And he was correct. You are stubborn, but kind hearted and loving. I have also brought you here to defend Merlin. I felt you should know what he has done before your end, so I sent some messengers. However, there is no need to feel any ire toward the boy for keeping secrets. Everyone keeps secrets. Including you." Death raised a pair of gray, elderly eyebrows. Hunith felt blood rushing to her cheeks, as she thought of her secret, Balinor.

"I am giving you a choice. You may die now, at home, peacefully. Or you may continue your journey, and die of a disease that some call the 'curse of Death', for it is slow and can be quite painful. There is no cure."

Hunith immediately said, "I'll go to Camelot."

Death nodded. "As I thought. Now, you must not tell anyone of this meeting nor of the one you had with my messengers, or I may have to meet some you know much too soon," Death said ominously.

"I'll see you soon. Good luck, Hunith." An ebony door appeared next to the fire place.

Death signaled Hunith to leave. "You shall end up where we left, on the brink of Camelot."

Hunith rose, slowly, out of the plush chair and quietly walked out, alive, of the home of Death.

A/N: *Gasp* A new chapter in less than five months! And it's longer! This story is, like Hunith, nearing its end... Review if you want to. :)