Chapter 18
POV Lori
Because I could not stop for Death...
"Please, please don't hurt me. I am innocent, I swear!" I whispered loudly to myself as I sat in the corner of my dark room. "Why, why must it be me who must suffer for their sins?" I hissed. "Take them, not me! Let me live in peace! I deserve a place in heaven!" I cried more loudly that time.
"But you've wronged so many people, my dear, you've hurt those you held dear to your heart. For that you cannot be forgiven," I looked up and was met face to face with the source of the voice. I had been having many illusions, and this one kept repeating the same sweet nothings to me. Exactly like a broken record. At times, I was certain this wasn't an illusion, that this was the reaper that had been sent to collect my soul.
In my head, he looked like any other young noble would. He was much more taller than me, and he looked like the exact image of any girl's imaginary lover. He had dark raven hair and wine colored eyes. At times when his cold, dead eyes looked at mine, especially in my most vulnerable state, I would look into his eyes and be reminded of the blood that had surrounded my sister when I had seen her for the last time. This boy, who sat in a wooden rocking chair across the room, often told me that I could see things no other peculiar could see.
"You can see figures from the underworld," He had sweetly whispered into my ear one peaceful night. We were sitting back to back that night, him holding my lifeless hand. He did this often, and I had gotten used to it that point. He showed me more affection then...Millard ever had.
"What do you mean?" I had been afraid of him for quite some time, even after he told me that he called himself Death.
"You don't know? Blimey, you've been living under a rock for your life. Or in your case, my dear, a basement and closet." I had been very furious at his snarky little comment. Of course many people knew about my life before I had gotten here. But no one was allowed to talk about it. Only I was, and the only reason I could still remember this was because of this boy.
"Leave me be, can't you see you've done enough to me?" I had asked him that same night. He glanced at me, shifting his body so we could see into each other's dead eye and pale feature, ruby eyes staring into my purple ones, hands no longer entwined. My breathing was the only sound for a while, and it was just a faint, weak, and even small huff every minute or so.
"But you're my favorite human to mess with," he purred in my ear, lightly caressing my cheek. I slapped his hand away from my face that night, and I remember it surprising the both of us. I thought he had been an illusion, to mess with my mind and punish me for my sins. Up until that point I thought he couldn't be real, that he was just made up by me. He had been perfect in any aspect, perfect hair, perfect smooth skin, a perfect smile, and the right attitude. The perfect way to make me suffer.
He had laughed coldly that night. "I never thought you would figure this out so quickly, after all you are nothing but a child. A dull one to be exact, no wonder your love ignores you and pays you no mind. No wonder one comes to visit you, no wonder they've locked you in this room all by yourself. Come with me, my dear. Leave this place, never look back. Never suffer, never be alone. Let us leave together, let us be together for eternity. Leave these pesky humans, stay with me forever."
He kindly stopped for me...
"Take that back and just shut the hell up!" I gritted my teeth and I remember I had tried to slap his pale face, but he quickly dodged and took a deathly grip on my wrist.
"I would never dream of that, my dear, after all you and I are destined to be intertwined with each other forever." He leaned closed to my face, an evident smirk on his beautiful and flawless face, and I could do nothing except stand there. At first, I was whimpering and I could feel cold tears staining my cheeks. I didn't understand, why did he say that? He was usually cold and cocky towards me, but I remember looking in his wine colored eyes and seeing pity.
He had been awfully close to my face that night, and now, thinking about what he had said, I have finally begun to understand what he meant by that. Death visited me every night, instead of the fear and anger I had held towards him when we first met, I had grown accosted to his presence.
We never really did talk, but when we did it was often filled with uncomfortable silence.
We would probably just stare at each other, having silent conversations in our head.
We fought a lot, and we fought about the dumbest of things.
"How about I gouge out those lovely eyes of yours so you can't look at anyone? Me reflecting everywhere you go should be enough, is it?" I was irked by his words, and it was scary to think that he was actually serious about it.
"No thank you!" I huffed at him and crossed my arms over my chest, him laughing in the background.
"Lighten up, my dear, you don't know a good joke when you hear one! But too be honest, who is to say if I was serious or not?" He innocently said, tapping his finger to his cheek.
He looked to be around my age, or a few years older at the least. I made up my mind that he looked thirteen. Many things gave me chills about this boy, but what also irked me about this pale boy was that he was unhealthy pale. He wore a white button up shirt and a black vest which was often hidden by a dark coat, with black trousers when he came to visit me at night. He had raven black bangs that hung in his eyes a lot, long enough that he couldn't exactly see, so he often pinned some of it up in the style of: XIII.
I was young, and very naive, so I didn't notice how everything fit together so perfectly. His age, how old he looked, the XIII, Death. It took me many years, after I had settled down, to finally understand why this boy intrigued me so. Death. It was always Death with him. And I bet, I bet everything I hold dear to me now, that he knew of my guilty pleasures and my dark thoughts that never came to light.
Death.
He knew me too well.
Too well that he often didn't notice when I would wear long sleeves in the summer.
Too often when I would let the hair I hated with so much pain, flow freely around my neck. Death never noticed me change.
I bet that he overlooked it. I bet he still thought I was the same little girl who would cower behind the bed when he would sit in the rocking chair and sing those songs of his. His songs of Death, or so he called them.
His deathly stare whenever he sung so sweetly was what most of my nightmares had been about for a few months. He would laugh whenever I would jolt awake at night. He would laugh so maliciously that I would think that I was still having nightmares.
Death was ever so kind to me.
The Carriage held by just Ourselves...
I never told anyone of this strange boy that would visit my room at night. I never knew what his reason was, he just told me that I was very special.
"You're very different. That's what I love. I was draw to you because of it, my dear you are one of a kind."
Death only ever called me "My dear,". It would irritate me at times, but I had been getting used to it.
He told me many stories during his visits, stories about his imperfect family. Stories of his life, how long he had been walking around the Earth.
"You have a younger sister?" I had asked him one night when he was telling me a story.
"Yes, a younger one. I have many brother's and sisters, but this sister and I share the same mother, the same blood you might say." Death wasn't a very patient boy, so he sighed as soon as he was done talking.
"What is she like?" I had asked him, gripping the arm rest of the chair I was seated at. Death laid down on the bed, resting from all the work he had done that day.
"She's...bitter."
"Bitter like her brother, I guess it runs in he family," I muttered. Death sat up and glared at me.
"Watch your tone, you're speaking to Death."
"What's the lord of all reapers going to do to me? Kill me? Please do so."
There was a long pause until Death laid back down.
"What is I told you, you were to die tonight at midnight?" He asked me.
I was shocked, at midnight? I rocked a bit faster in the chair, my nails digging into the palms of my hand.
"I-I don't know. I just..." I didn't finish that sentence.
"But you've told me about how much you hate your life, wouldn't it be nice if you could finally rest?"
"I-I, it wold be, but it seems a bit too sudden, at midnight? That's about two hours from now!" I had felt cold tears stream down my face, I was shocked.
Death glared at me. "You said you wanted to die, many times before tonight. You've told me day after day how happy people would be if you were dead. Now you want to go back on that promise?" Death spoke harshly. He swiftly stood up and pushed me against the wall. "Have you lied to me this whole time?"
I gulped and looked at the weapon he had against my throat. It was his scythe, his scythe that he used to reap the souls of the dead. There was a crazy gleam in his wine colored eyes.
My eyes had stopped producing tears, and for a moment I thought I could have seen the tiniest glint of pity in his fierce eyes.
"Do it," I choked out, coming out as a small whisper.
"What? Speak up,"
"Do it," I said louder so that he could hear it. "Do it! See if I care! Kill me if you want to! I don't care anymore! You'd actually be doing me a huge favor!" I yelled out. It was a loud and piercing scream, and Death was taken aback.
We stayed liked that for a few seconds, Death holding my neck and pinning me up against the wall while his other hand held his scythe. There was a furious knocking at my door, and a few voices were frantically screaming my name.
"I'll postpone it for now, but only for today. The next time I come, hand holding this scythe, you need to be prepared. Before I go tonight, tell me, are they your real friends? Those at the door who have been ignoring you for some time?" I blinked and stared at him for what seemed like a second before falling to the ground, Death had left.
"Lori! Lori open up!" A voice from the other side of the door yelled. I raised my head, having been limp since the talk. I slowly stood up, and reluctantly walked to the door.
"Yes?" It was Emma on the other side, with Olive and Hugh who stood behind her. "How may I help you tonight?" They all stared at my neck and I quickly went to cover it up with my arm, but I had forgotten that there were many cuts on there as well. In the end, I let them see my scars, I let them see the punishment I endured from their isolation.
"Are you okay? We heard screams," Hugh spoke up, backing up a bit when he saw my wild and crazed eyes.
"Why wouldn't I be? Am I not always fine?" I asked them in mock worry. No one spoke, so I sighed and slammed the door in their faces, Emma complaining at my door for a few minutes before giving up and going to her room.
"I'm all alone aren't I?"
"No, I'm always here with you, my dear."
And Immortality...
"Forever?"
"For all eternity, if you accept to be my bride."
"I'll ponder it later, but what will come to me if I accept to be a bride to shinigami?"
"Eternal youth and life."
"Anything else?"
"You will never be alone."
We slowly drove- He knew no haste...
"When will you become my bride?" He whined to me one night. I had been sitting at my desk for quite some time, writing a poem and short story to see if it was worth my time.
"When I want to," I smiled at him.
He smiled, a melancholy smile, at me as if he had just seen a ghost, which was weird since he should encounter some everyday.
"Is something wrong?" I asked him as I turned my body to face the whining boy who currently sat on my bed.
"No, no," He smiled at me, an unconvincing smile.
"Alright," I whispered and began to hum a song.
"My dear, did I ever tell you the story of how everything came to be?"
I put my pencil down and tapped my index finger to my lip. "Didn't God create the world or something? I never really went to church as a kid."
"There's some truth in that, but wouldn't you like to hear the story?"
"Yes please!" I nodded my head vigorously.
He smiled at me with his wine colored eyes and in a soft whisper, told me a story,
"Life and Death have been in love for longer than we have words to describe,
Life send countless gifts to Death,
And Death keeps them forever," Death softly spoke.
He looked at my face and chuckled at my pout.
"What's the matter?" Death asked me with a look that showed no concern.
"I thought you said I was to be your bride."
"That was a long time ago, my feelings have changed drastically towards Life. To those dark feelings of hatred and the desire to kill her," Death had told me and patted my blue hair.
"And in the end, it's true. I will one day kill her," he smiled down at me and hugged me close to him.
"Why?"
"Because in the end, even Death beats Life."
"Oh."
And I had put away...
"Tell me more stories, stories about when you were young, a child," I said to him one summer night.
"There's not much to tell you," he told me as he fanned himself.
"Yes there is, tell me about your family, your early life with... Life," I told him, eager to know more about my one and only loyal friend.
"Really?"
I quickly nodded my head, eager to find out.
"I'll tell you a short story, a conversation I had with Life when we were around the age of two thousand years, pretty young."
"But that's not young at all!" I complained to him, earning a small chuckle from the grim reaper who sat in my bed.
"It is. My dear I'm afraid to say that I am as old as the Earth, both Life and I." He adjusted the pillows on my bed so that he could sit up comfortably.
"One day, I was sat under a tree, crying. Life approached me and sat next to me, her turquoise hair was blending with the birds that surrounded her, the birds that were brave enough to approach me that is.
"Life asked me, 'Death, why do people love me, but hate you?'"
"That was pretty harsh on her part," I comment. Death smiles at me and continues.
"I carefully touched one of the birds surrounding her, o pet it, but as soon as touched it, it began to bleed and die.
"So I responded with, 'Because you are a beautiful lie'-"
"Why did you call her beautiful?" I huff out playfully. He chose to ignore me.
"-'and I am nothing but a painful truth."
"But that's not true! You are definitely not a painful truth! You're nothing but nice, especially to me!" I protested.
He smiled kindly at me and said, "But my dear, that is nothing but the truth."
I sighed, relaxing my shoulders. I had felt nothing but defeat in that moment.
"Okay, but promise me you won't ever say that again."
"Do you expect me to lie?"
"Do it, do it so I don't have to feel any horrible feelings."
"Yes, my dear."
My labor and leisure too...
"Thank you."
"You are ever the most welcome."
For His Civility...
"Manners, I see."
"So?"
"You're too polite."
"I know, I was raised this way."
"Why?"
"I don't know, I just was."
"You make me feel bad with you being polite."
"How?"
"Because I used to be like that when I was a kid, and now I have changed and it bugs me everyday."
"You've changed? I haven't noticed and I've watched over you your whole life."
"You have?"
"Of course, you were an interesting human. My sister and I loved to do so."
"That sounds nothing but creepy..."
"Sorry, but we were so intrigued by you."
We passed the School- where Children strove...
One summer day, he came to visit me. I had been sitting at the small bay window, staring at all the children who were playing outside.
"You envy them." It wasn't a question, but a statement from Death.
"Yes, I do." I turned my body around to face him.
"What a pity then," Death muttered and gives me his signature smirk, and for the first time since we met, I noticed how sharp his teeth were. He seemed to notice my gaze since he smiled wider.
"You should go out and play with them," he told me, and all I could do was shake my head.
"I can't, I'm not allowed to. I have too many mental breakdowns that's it's been deemed dangerous to be near me," I answered him. He shrugged and sighed, his wine colored eyes closed.
"I can do something about it you know," Death whispered, barley audible to me.
"What can you do?"
"I don't know, maybe I can... reap their souls?" Death was sat on my bed, or more like hanging off of it. His dark bangs were hanging in his eyes, he hadn't bothered to wear the bobby pins in that special pattern he usually would wear it in.
"No, you can't. I'll be held responsible since I have 'an unstable mind'."
"Please," Death whined, his blood colored eyes held eagerness.
"No."
"Fine."
"At least you aren't beg-"
"I won't reap their souls, unless you go out and socialize." Death had sat up on my bed once again, arms crossed over his black vest.
"No way," I muttered as I looked outside from the window once again. I had gotten my own room when I had awoken my previous roommates multiple times with my screams and mental breakdowns. Fun.
"Then I guess I'll reap their souls," Death grinned at me wickedly.
"No, bad Death." He pouted at my words and leaned his head on his scythe, which had appeared just seconds ago.
"Don't you have a list of souls to reap today?"
"I control the whole system, I can drop my work on others," Death told me. I sighed and shrugged it off, looking out the window once again.
"I want to leave, I want to leave this place. Will you take me with you? Take me wherever I want?" I was angry, angry that I had finally found a place a place where I truly belonged, only to be rejected later on for something that I didn't have control over.
At Recess – in the Ring ...
"Where do you want to go, my dear?"
"Away from here, please take me away."
Death looked at me longingly, a small look of pity evident in his ruby orbs. "I'm afraid I can't do that," Death said to me. "You'll have to wait a little longer until I can take you away from Hell."
A few months passed after that conversation, Death still came at night to visit me. We talked many nights away, and we became even closer then before. I was growing a tad bit older; I was taller and my chest was growing a bit as well a lot of other things. My lips were fuller, I was no longer as pale as I used to be and my voice was no longer that of a small girl's, but that of a mature young woman's.
Death stayed the same. His same hair, same bobby pins that held his hair up. His same ruby orbs and same sharp teeth. He hadn't aged at all.
"Why do you choose to look that way?" I asked him one night.
"Because it'a an omen, and also a legend."
"I don't like it," I told him. He raised his eyebrows and stood up from his place in my rocking chair.
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain...
"Why?"
"Because if I am to be your bride, we should at least look the same age," I told him in a tone I didn't recognize.
Death looked at me and started to laugh, his red eyes held nothing but pity and madness. "Do you still believe that crap?" Death laughed bitterly. "Do you still think the lies I told you when you were younger were true?" He was laughing manically.
"W-what do you mean?" I had been feeling betrayed at that point.
He had lied to me?
We passed the Setting Sun...
"Look, my dear. I know I told you that I would take you as my bride, but I am afraid I am already betrothed to someone else, someone I hate to say the truth. It isn't my choice if I decide to marry or not, my father has made it clear that I have no say in anything. Even these nightly visits I pay to you are against his wishes.
"At first, I was serious about taking you as my bride, but as soon as my father got word of this he requested my presence at his throne room. He reminded me I already was betrothed, and he has forbidden me to see you. But I could not tear my eyes away from you, for upon the disgrace of my reputation, I have fallen in love with a human.
"I wish I really could take you in as my beloved, but I can't cross my father. After all he is the creator of all evil. King of Hell. I cannot defy him, and for that I am so sorry, my dear." Death wouldn't look at me, or my tear stricken face. We were sat back to back the both of us, holding hands.
"I'm sorry, sorry for messing up your life, but I will have you know, that one day, very far off in the future, we will meet again. And I will be ready, to take you as my bride, or be ready to reap your soul from your body."
"Why... I don't understand. Why won't you take me away? Take me away from Hell! Please, I beg of you, please!" I cried out, my voice hoarse.
"No, I'm afraid I cannot."
"Please, we can run away together, we can get away from here. I can escape from the painful memories and you can escape from your father."
"I would like that, I would like that a lot!" Death stood up and pulled me up with him, a sharp toothed smile adorned his pale face. "Let's run away tonight, run away while we're young!" Death yelled in excitement. I smiled with him as well, happy that I could finally convince him.
"Let's go, we have nothing to lose!" I smiled widely and grabbed my satchel from my desk. I put in my many notebooks and pens. Thanks to this boy, I had decided to become a poet and author. I also put in my books and clothes as well, the necessary items.
"Let's go, while we still have time, we don't have time to waste!" Death said in a hurried tone.
"You're right, the faster we get out of our personal Hell's the better. Let me just write a quick note to tell the Mistress and the others about what we plan to do." I took out a sheet of paper and my pen and quickly wrote a note.
" September 3rd, 1940,
Dear Miss Peregrine,
This is Lori writing this letter. After all the things I have suffered over the last year or so, I have decided to leave.
I will in fact take my chances with the dangers of the outside world, I would however like to stay, but I am afraid I no longer feel welcome here.
The rest of the wards have been avoiding me, not that I can blame them, I have been becoming a little mad after the death of my beloved sister.
I hope that you all will not worry about me, although many never did in the first place.
Please take note that I will miss you all.
Please tell the other wards about this, please tell them not to worry for me.
I have Death on my side after all.
I will become his bride, a major reason of why I am not staying. We both want to escape our personal Hell, so we have decided to run away together.
Please tell Emma not to worry, to not get mad. Make her promise she won't go looking for me.
Please tell Olive that I will miss her, and tell her not to get into any sorts of trouble.
Tell the others to take care as well, and please tell Millard that I'm sorry.
I also beg that you not tell him of me betrothed, it will only cause havoc.
Please take care of yourself too.
- Lori Crystalation. "
I neatly folded up the paper and set it on my desk, an obvious place that would easily be found.
Or rather- He passed us...
Death and I made our way out my small bedroom window. Death and I walked fast, wanting to get out of there fast.
I yelped a few times as I kept tripping over my feet in the dark. Death picked me up, and once I had given up, about a mile from the house, he sighed and we decided to rest for a bit.
"You humans have a weak stamina," Death complained as I greedily took in many fresh breaths of air. I was irritated at his small comment, but I didn't have the right amount of oxygen in my body to retaliate.
"Let's keep going," I muttered to him once I had some what recovered.
The Dews drew quivering and chill...
We swiftly stood up, running at a more reasonable pace than before. "How much longer until we can get to the port?" I asked when I had suddenly stopped to lean on a tree.
"Let's say about an hour, we have to hurry though. Let's get out of here quickly," Death told me as he handed me a canteen of water.
I pushed it away from me and asked, "Why the rush?" I trusted him and he trusted me, but why wouldn't he just tell me why he wanted us to hurry?
Death didn't respond, instead he looked at the ground. "We should just hurry, I want to leave as soon as possible."
For only Gossamer, my Gown...
I decided not to argue, I was tired after all. We walked through the small forest that surrounded the peculiar house, the high grass brushing against my legs. I was wearing a light blue dress that went just below the knees, a bit scandalous but I got hot a lot during the night. The tall grass scraped my legs, and it sometimes tickled and I would lightly sigh.
My Tippet- only Tulle...
I would also adjust the light blue scarf that I had wrapped around my neck where the red scars still somewhat showed. Too be honest, it wasn't much of a scarf but for of a shawl, but I still called it one for I could wrap it around my neck. It wasn't cold, but I loved wearing this scarf even though it reminded me of the hair I hated with all of my heart.
About half an hour passed and Death and I were very close to the port.
That was the moment I knew my life would change forever.
"Get down!" He yelled at me. At first I didn't know what he meant, but once I heard the whistling I finally understood. I jumped into the water, taking cover under a boat who's bow was now facing the sky. I remember I had started to cry, loud sobs that echoed and scared me even more. I wasn't very experienced with these sorts of things. I had never known what a bomb sounded like.
The boat started to rock violently and it banged against my head a few times, knocking me out cold for a few minutes. I know this for a fact because when I awoke, the boy who I had grown to trust was staring at me, rowing the boat.
"W-what happened?"
"You don't remember?"
I shook my head at his words.
"N-no. Why? What happened?" I asked frantically, my eyes looking down at the waves.
"Before I tell you, please know that I had no choice."
"Just bloody tell me!"
There was a long moment of silence between us, an uneasy one that surprisingly didn't make my heart or pulse race.
"Well, the thing is, Lori you're dead."
It was the first time he said my name.
The first time I heard how perfectly my name rolled off his tongue.
How sorrowful and pained his voice was when he said it.
Death looked at me with his wine colored eyes. There was a small smile on his face, a reassuring smile. It looked strange on him, he would rarely smile. But I love this smile, and the memories I had been pushing to the back of my mind resurfaced.
"It was... you," I whispered as his smile disappeared.
"I knew you would remember, soon enough at least. You're a very stupid girl so I'd thought it would take more time," he lightly whispered.
"You're... you're the boy who came to my aunt's funeral..." I whispered and Death intertwined our fingers together.
"See, you remember me now, doesn't that feel nice?"
"You were the boy that stayed at her grave for hours on end, you were the boy who left a note there! You were the one who saw me, the one who took a knew down to my height..." I glared at him, and his expression turned to one of confusion.
"You- you looked me in th eye and apologized. You told me it was your fault she was dead! You told me so many things... so many horrible things!" I looked him in the eyes, his blood colored eyes locked with mine and a devious smirk adorned his pale skin.
He stopped rowing for a second, and silence filled the night air.
"I told you, that the next time I saw you, the next time we saw that I would reap your soul. That was my job, and as a grim reaper I failed. I fell in love with human yet again. Lori, in the end there is nothing I can do. In the end I must reap the souls of the living. Lori, I'm sorry. In the end, there is nothing I can do. In the end, even those I hold dear to my heart, like your aunt and yourself, will have to be reaped."
I was stunned. I didn't know what to say.
"Where are we going?" I asked him.
"Well, you aren't like any other human I have reaped, so my father will pass a special judgement on you." Death told me.
"But you don't want that, do you Death?" Death and I were both quiet. I didn't recognize that voice, but by the look on Death's face I could tell he did.
I looked at his frozen face and saw that his gaze was fixed onto something behind me. I turned my head to be met face to face with a young girl with long turquoise hair and rich caramel colored skin.
"You want to see this girl live a long and joyful life, do you not, my love?" The girl asked in a monotone voice. I looked her over and saw that she wore a Victorian era dress. Her long teal hair was flowing over her shoulders and her purple eyes reflected that of lilacs. I instantly hated her. Her appearance... it was so close to mine.
Was this the reason he had fallen in love with me? Was he so heartbroken about this girl that once he laid eyes on me he decided I could fill in for her?
"Yes, I hold her close to my heart. I wish to see her live a full and joyous life."
Life.
This girl in front of us was Life.
"Do you wish for me to help, my love?" She asked in a bittersweet tone.
"No, I will not receive help from the likes of you."
"Why do you say that, my love?"
"Because! We're polar opposites! Polar opposites meant to marry and be joined as one!"
"Do you not like the idea?"
"No! Especially wit it being forced!" Death was sobbing while Life sat beside him, letting her fingers tangle in his raven black locks.
"I don't like it very much either, but it'show it has to be. You should be grateful for my kind offer. I've never granted this to anybody, but I don't wish to see you suffer," Life spoke, her purple eyes showing compassion.
"What are you talking about? This isn't some joke!"
"I can bring her back to life, return her soul to her body. I can grant her eternal life," Life spoke as she looked at me with pity.
"Immortal..." I whispered in awe.
"Yes, immortal my dear. You can spend the rest of your days with him, my betrothed." She gave me a kind smile and took my hand with her's.
"No, I don't wish to be immortal," I said to them, surprising them both.
"Why? Most people wish for this and beg me not to take their souls!" Death raised his voice.
"I don't wish to see my love full of sadness, why don't you wish to live an immortal life with him?" Life asked.
"Because, I really have no reason to live. I have no good reason to live an immortal life. Although I do love that boy, I have to think of what will come of this. All day and night he works to collect souls, he gets scolded at by his father, he won't have enough time to watch for me. My family means nothing to me, my little sister is dead. I would rather have twenty more years of life then to live a miserable and long life. Please do forgive me for speaking my mind." I hung my head in shame.
"What do you think of this, my love? What would you have me do?"
"Please, grant her a few more years of life. Grant her a life worth living so that she no longer has to suffer. Grant her happiness for me, please," Death whispered.
"But wouldn't you rather stay by your side?"
"No. If she doesn't want to, it's fine by me. She's still too young to have her soul taken from her."
"If I do, she'll probably have no memory of you. Is that fine?"
"As lone as she's alive, I don't care."
"Alright, Lori-san, please close your eyes. This might hurt a bit."
I remember closing my eyes tightly and Life chanting in an old forgotten language. I remember screaming so loudly, and I remember waking up in a carriage with a proper dress. I remember not knowing what had happened. I remember losing my memory with only one name.
Millard.
I remember I had looked around the carriage and noticing the country side.
"Don't worry, we're almost there, My Lady." A voice hollered from the front of the carriage.
"'My Lady'?" I had walked slowly to the window and I remember the glorious manor that could be seen from a distance. "Where am I? How did I get here?"
I remember how years later I married a bright and powerful noble, an arranged marriage by my mother's side of the family. I had reunited with them, only to be married off to a noble who was my age with the name of Victorian Wilcshire. And not until recently had my lost memories begun to resurface. So I have decided to share my story, the story of Lori Crystalation.
And the poem I first picked up when my sister died finally made since. The rest of the poem goes...
We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground – The Roof was scarcely visible – The Cornice – in the Ground – Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses' Heads Were toward Eternity –And for me...
Death is no more.
A/N: I want to thank all of you for sticking around and reading this story. This is indeed the last chapter, and then there will be a short epilogue. I want to thank all of you for sticking to this story, I love you all. I especially want to thank you for taking the time to read and dealing with slow updates. I also want to thank the people who followed, favorited, and reviewed! I will miss you all, and I also want to say this story almost has 3k views! Thank you all, I love you all so I hope the last chapter is worth it. I love you all and I also want to say that I won't be writing on anymore, unless you guys really want me to.
I will be spending my time on wattpad as I feel a bit more comfortable writing on there. I also have a few stories on here that I never finished. I'm sorry to say that they will either be discontinued or I will continue them on wattpad. My pen name is Diomand_Girl2002 so I hope you can read my other stories on there.
I also want to say that I am sorry for any mistakes in my earlier chapters, I was twelve when I started this story so of course it's crappy.
I guess this is goodbye, I hope we can see each other some day.