Morgianna died, but Death was there waiting on her. He heard her last wish in her heart. The trade of Eltarr's life for Alnwick. She knew the big guy would be mad when he realized that while she died he would not be dying anytime soon.
...
It has been a week since Morgianna sacrificed herself to save everyone. There had been a mass funeral to honor all who fought bravely but today was one that all of Morgianna's friends wanted to hold just for her. Yes, everyone fought for the same goal but without her none of it would have been possible.
From afar two figures watched as one after another friend and family laid a flower upon a casket that was empty. Her body though cracked and bloodied was hers and hers alone. When she had opened her eyes she almost couldn't believe that she was alive... Or well would she technically be considered undead? Death had been there with a serious look on his face as he offered his hand to her. He had stolen away her body with the promise of her being able to keep it on one condition. It was the deal of a lifetime or in her case two. With her ancestry there were two choices... The first was to accept her death and be thrown into the wheel for reincarnation once again but this time with no perks. She would be a normal person with a normal life and live it without the memories of her here and now. The second was a little more tricky. People died every day and someone was always needed to carry the souls to their next destination. Death in his own strange way had basically offered her a job. Once taken the job couldn't exactly be quit though. It was a for all of eternity type of gig. The pay was nonexistent, the hours were long but the perks were that she would never grow old, never be hungry, and would never for the rest of eternity die.
Death looked at Morgianna and gave her a nod before disappearing. This was her time and he would not disturb. While he didn't agree with what she was doing he could understand why she was doing it.
With heavy feet Morgianna descended the hill until she was less than fifty feet from those she cared about. She had questioned herself for days if this was the correct choice and found that if she didn't do it now then she may just carry this regret for all of eternity. They didn't even notice her presence as all of them focused on an empty box. All of their emotions were almost tangible causing the air around them to be heavy. "I told you all not to be sad, yet here you all stand crying and boohooing."
At first nobody could believe their ears. A hallucination would have been a more believable cause than what they found themselves looking at. The very person they were mourning stood in front of them now. Her signature red hood was covering most of her face except for a smirk that would have been recognized instantly. With two hands she pulled the hood from her head letting her mismatched eyes meet each of their shocked gazes.
Nobody spoke as if afraid to end the shared dream that they were all in. "I thought my welcome would be...well a little more welcoming." Her laughter filled the silence and more tears streamed from everyone's eyes.
Fafnir always was the first to react as he practically charged at her. Just as his arms went to envelope her in a hug he found himself passing right through her. Morgianna felt a ping in her heart at his distraught face. "I'm sorry for everything I really am. It might have been easier on you if I didn't come back at all." She hung her head as Fafnir reached out only to pull his hand back. "I died, but I thought it would give you comfort if you knew that I wasn't completely gone. If you knew that I was still watching over you."
Myra fell to her knees beside Fafnir and gave a strangled sob. "In the end we failed to protect you."
"It happened at no fault of your own. I willingly went because I knew that the trade would be that all of you get to live. I knew for days leading up to the fight... That my time had run out." She gave a forced smile as she took in the emotions that flitted across everyone's faces. Some were in denial, some were just sad but one among them was angry. "I just hope you forgive me. Alnwick please don't be so angry at me, I couldn't take an eternity of knowing you hated me."
At his name being called out Alnwick bristled. Multiple pairs of eyes locked onto his hunched figure but he only cared about one. "You left me behind." The accusation in his voice was like a hot knife cutting Morgianna in searing ways.
Moving forward until she stood just before him Morgianna wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold him. "I wanted you to live not for me, but for yourself. You have spent so many years tied to someone else that I just wanted you to be free as you were always meant to be. I'm not gone for good. When you get married, I'll be there. At the birth of each child I will be there. Then on the day that each one of you breathes your last, I will be there to offer you a hand. This is not goodbye forever so please don't any of you be sad..."
Everyone gathered as close as they could. Morgianna had not felt hot or cold since her passing but with them all surrounding her she felt warmth for the first time. The ones that were closest to her were her family. The mom and dad that she always wanted and a brother who had treated her like the most precious treasure. If she could she would hold them tightly and never let go.
Morgianna stayed for what felt like hours on that grassy hill. She knew she couldn't stay forever, but every time she tried to leave she found herself comforting someone else. She had not realized how many people would truly miss her. Sure she figured those closest to her would be sad with her being gone but the longer she stayed the more people found themselves coming up to speak to her about how she touched their life. Her secret identity was a secret no more and everyone knew that little Red was Morgianna. Every little thing that she had done for years was being lamented, even the smallest of issues. From returning a stolen item to stopping a serial killer it was all talked about as if they weighed the same, and that was a lot.
It was almost too much for Morgianna who had done all those deeds, not for recognition but because she could and it was the right thing to do.
"Alright I really have to go now, but I'll check in when I can." She was glad they couldn't grab her or she feared she would have had to forcefully pull people off of her.
There was a chorus of no's and please don't go but she had a job now that she knew she had slacked off from long enough. Knowing that if she doesn't go she could end up staying for several more hours she gives one last wave and blinks out of the area.
It had taken her a little to get used to just popping up in places but she had to admit that this mode of travel is better than even flying and it definitely beats riding in a carriage. When she blinked back into existence Death was already waiting for her in their "home" of sorts. Really it was just an over the top bachelor pad. When she first saw it she had honestly felt kind of cheated. There was a pool table and flat-screen TVs, lounge chairs, and even a bar. She could remember vividly and embarrassingly her rant about how he had all this tech and hadn't shared with her at all. To which he had calmly replied 'I recently went to the earth world and saw this so I made it for you. I am unsure if everyone likes this type of place but the woman and man seemed very happy there.' His word had been said so seriously that Morgianna couldn't have fought the blush even if she tried. He taught her how to will something into being and she had filled the rooms will all manner of odds and ins.
"Welcome back." His voice sounded the same as it did the day she first met him but now there was no hostility or threat. If she were truly honest with herself she liked the way it sounded.
"I'm home." She gave him a playful wink and was shocked when his cheeks turned pink. Death had blushed like a young maiden and she was the one to do that to him. Her eyes must have been bugging out of her head because he gave her a strange look and then turned away. Living with him had been an adventure already and she could never tell what he was thinking.
"Home, she called it home." His voice was barely a whisper but still, she heard. This time it was her that was blushing.
In a need to change the subject she gave him a serious look and cleared her throat. "Ya know, now that I'm like you we can't both be called Death so what is your real name." She felt stupid the moment she said it.
He gave her a puzzled look that almost looked as if he were calling her dumb. "You are Morgianna."
Of course she knew that was her name, it has been her name through two births and two deaths. "I know but if we are going to spend eternity together I want to be able to call you something other than Death." She batted her eyes at him causing his heart to thump loudly in his chest.
"If you would like you can give me a name. It has been so many years that I do not remember my given one." He knew what he wanted her to call him...if only he could make his lips form the words.
Give him a name? Morgianna was at a loss of words of why he would let her call him whatever she wanted. "I don't want to pick something stupid..."
He was starting to get antsy, whatever she picked would be fine as long as she was calling him. He had trapped his feelings deep inside ever since he realized them but they were slowly bubbling up. "You could call me your boyfriend." He offered it almost casually as his eyes never left her face wanting to catch her every reaction.
He had seen her blush at his words and stare at him and he hoped he hadn't just made a mistake. After all something of this caliber could make their eternity very awkward. "D-do you know what that means!?" Her voice had risen a few octaves as she stared at him with shock and if he dared hope, excitement.
"I have lived for quite a while so I do know what the word means." His voice came out almost a purr as he stalked closer to her.
"B-boyfriend." The word sounded foreign on her lips. After all two lifetimes and she had never actually had one before.
As if reading her thoughts he spoke in a reassuring way. "You do not have to say yes if you do not want to. I know you did not get time to date in your past lives."
She couldn't even speak, shocked that he would feel anything for her so she did the next best thing she gave him two thumbs up causing him to smirk. It was such a childish yet her thing to do. Regardless that was a yes even if it hadn't been said aloud and he would wait no longer. Eternity was a long time and he had prided himself on his patience but with her, that had all flown out the window.
She could change her mind tomorrow, a year, or a thousand years from now but there was one thing he was certain of, she could run but she could never escape.