Finishing her search Morgianna opened her eyes and gave him a forced smile. "You want the good or bad news first?"
He cocked his head to the side confused by what she meant. "I guess the good news?" He spoke slowly as if he was questioning his own answer.
She grimaced slightly wishing she had her hood to hide in. "The good news is I found the binding inside of you. It is right behind your naval. I'm just glad it isn't near your heart. However the bad news..." she started to pace. The news she had was far worse than just bad.
"The bad news is that it has affected your ability to bring in mana naturally... I can break it but because of the black magic that the mayor performed it has leaked into you and.." She was struggling to force the words out. He had suffered so much and now he was going to suffer indefinitely.
He sighed, he had feared something like this would happen. "Are you saying I will have to make a pact with someone else if I ever wish to perform my magic again?"
She could only nod. She wanted to reassure him but knew that anything she could say wouldn't help.
The silence stretched on uncomfortably and Morgianna could feel him slipping into depression. "You do not have to make up your mind to form a pact immediately... I can help you look for someone suitable and dependable if you ever decided you wanted to." She hoped that by mentioning that he had time later it would at least lift his spirits a bit but instead the reaction she saw cross his face was shock.
"Are you not going to try to get me to form a pact with you? I thought that with me having little to no choices you would suggest yourself."
She shook her head. "You have lots of choices and I would never try to make them for you. I told you I have the mana to support you. However, if you do not think I am the best choice for you then I would not try to force you to choose me. There is one thing though, you need to make up your mind soon. I need to figure out how I will be fighting the mayor. If you cannot contact the beasts of this forest then I need to find a way to." She did not like that she had to rush him, but time was not on their side.
Alnwick was still lying on his back, the whole world feeling a little smaller. He looked at Morgianna as she slowed her pacing and stood a short distance from him. He could tell at first look that she was at least part vampire. Her long black hair and pale skin that was almost translucent under the random beams of light filtering through the trees. If he formed a pact with her she could live hundreds of years more, especially since she was a child. Her mismatched eyes were locked on him and he felt their gaze heavily as if they could see into his very soul. They spoke of knowledge far beyond what a child should know and of the truth in all the words she had spoken to him today.
He had not known her long, but he trusted her. "I will form a pact with you." The words were a whisper. Almost choking him as they left his mouth. He had not wanted to depend on any one person, but looking into her eyes as he had... he knew she was going to be someone he could trust with his life.
"Then prepare yourself. This is gonna hurt." She stepped forward slowly her hand outstretched as if she was going to give his stomach a high five. She looked into his eyes just before her hand brushed against him and stopped. Looking around she finally spotted what she had been searching for, his belt. She picked it up and dusted off the dirt that had stuck to its surface before placing it in his hands.
She tried to force a smile but it looked awkward and more like a grimace. "I am sorry, but this will hurt. I also do not want you to bite your tongue off. If at any point you feel you are going to pass out, just go ahead. I will take care of you."
He looked at the belt in his hands and shrugged. He had not felt much magic from her search earlier and if he was honest with himself he did not actually believe she would succeed. Yes he had agreed to form a pact with her, even asked all the right questions, but deep down he felt doubt.
He placed the belt between his teeth and nodded for her to start. He watched her slowly reach her hand out towards him once more. This time a white light was forming around her palm and with it the magical pressure began to grow. He shook at the feeling that rolled off of her at that moment and knew that he had been very very wrong. She was anything but weak.
When her palm touched his stomach his eyes almost rolled into the back of his head at the pain. It felt as if she was ripping apart his insides. A twisting sensation was in his stomach as his organs felt like they were being tied into knots. He bit harder into the belt, his teeth breaking through the top layer. He wished he could pass out then so that he wouldn't feel the pain. He wanted to think about being free of the Mayor but the only thing he could think about was the pain.
Spots danced in his vision as bright lights went off behind his tightly closed eyelids. He had heard the citizens sometimes joke about life flashing across their eyes before someone died and at this moment he wondered if it was true. He felt like he was dying. The pain was increasing with each second as if it was climbing a mountain and he feared what would happen when it reached the top.
He was just about to pass out when he felt something inside of him shatter like glass fragmenting into thousands of tiny pieces. The pressure inside of him loosened to almost a dull burn but stayed constant. He opened his eyes and looked towards where Morgianna stood, from her eyes ran two tracks of pure black down her face. She had a look of determination but seemed to be in pain herself. Behind her was a man he had never seen before, his face was an emotionless mask and in his hand was a large scythe. The man's mouth was moving but Alnwick realized he heard nothing but the beating of his own heart. A heart that sounded as if it was slowing.
He felt a bitter smile forming on his lips, horrible thoughts entering his mind. Maybe he deserved to die for not being able to stop Fernheim, maybe he deserved this pain that was gnawing at his insides, maybe...
He felt a tiny fist strike his chest and he opened his eyes not realizing he had even shut them again. Morgianna was above him, her mouth moving but he still heard nothing. He tried to bring his hand up to touch his ear to indicate he couldn't hear but found that his body wouldn't obey. He frowned trying to look down but even that was a hassle. His hands were lying limp at his side, nothing was holding them down.
He tried to focus on Morgianna's mouth. She kept repeating something over and over but still he could not understand. She turned to the man behind her and pointed at where he lay. Her little hands went to her hips and she stood between them as if she were protecting him.
She looked over her shoulder at Alnwick, biting her lower lip as if she was torn.
He saw her reach for his hand and produce a knife from what seemed like thin air. He didn't even feel the pain when she sliced the blade across his palm. He watched the blood well up as she did the same thing to her own palm. It was then he realized what she was doing, she was going to create a life bond. He wanted to struggle and tell her not to risk her own life as he was already dying. Somehow he knew it was true, he is not long for this world.
She gripped his hand in hers, her eyes focused on his as if willing him to stay with her. Her mouth was moving again, this time saying words he did not need to hear to know. He could feel the effects already starting. His hearing came back first and he caught fragments of her words. "With my life.. ..binding... until death."
He could feel her shaking as if she was nearing her limit and it was then that he felt real fear. He was alright if he died alone, but he did not want to take her with him.
A cold voice sounded from behind Morgianna. "If you continue on this path you will die." Alnwick was finally able to turn his head and saw the man with the scythe once again. He had somehow completely forgotten his existence yet he stood in the same place as before.
Morgianna shook her head, holding his hand in an almost crushing voice like grip. Her eyes never left his as she responded to the other man. "We will both survive this."
Her words were like a switch inside of had been flipped. He knew he needed to fight to live, or he could give up and let both of them die. He mustered all the strength he had left and squeezed her hand back.
In that instant it felt like a rubber band snapped in place between them and with it Morgianna released his hand and fell hard on her knees. Her back had that familiar fire ant feeling that she had felt with Fafnir when they had formed their own bond. It ran her whole back but she still did not know what the design would be. If she had to guess it would have something to do with his Phoenix, and would be just as beautiful as the dragon that adorned her shoulder.
(I will have her look at it later once she is home, the placement does not make it easy for her to see it yet, but I wanted to show how I want it to look.)

The world looked different in his eyes. Less dark and desolate, the colors he had almost forgotten were all around him. With some difficulty he sat up and looked around at all the trees, their green leaves so full of life. He lifted his hand and was shocked to see a normal healthy hand. It had color and did not look like skin and bones.
He felt better than he had in years as if he could take on the world. He looked back at Morgianna and saw she was still slumped on the ground beside the stone slab he was currently sitting on. She was paler than before, the black smudged across her delicate face.
She felt him staring and looked at him with a weak smile on her lips. "I am sorry I bound your life to mine without getting your permission first. You were dying... anyway can you give me five minutes, I don't feel so well." As the words left her mouth she slumped forward her body leaning against the cold stone.
Alnwick panicked and quickly jumped down to pick her up. She was burning up to the touch and did not even stir when he moved her. Yes it was true he had not told her to bind their lives to save him, but regardless the result was that he was still alive. For that he was thankful. He had been ready to die, but he knew he needed to atone for his sins, and the only way to do that was to live.