Death and a Lady

Arien has been spending time with an old friend.

A strange sensation had awoken Arien. She felt the gentle hand of someone softly pulling her awake from her slumber. She hadn't eaten since she arrived at Solis. With every breath she could feel the life expelling from her body, her heart beat faintly in her chest. Death was her nightly visitor. He often sat in the chair by her bed and comforted her, they were old friends. Over the course of her life Death had grown rather fond of this worldly creature and wanted her pain to end. He had every right and means to end her suffering but could not bring himself to carry her over to her next life. If ever the question was posed, What did Death love? Then the answer would be Arien. Death loved this mortal who had fought for her freedom since she drew her first breath out of her mothers womb. Nightly he lurked in the shadows watching her silently. She often spoke to him and pleaded with him to take her to rest, however her cries fell on defiant ears. Death was selfish and at heart still a child. He was not yet ready to give Arien over to the other side. He would hold onto her as long as he could, as long as he wanted.
Arien slowly rose from her bed. It took sometime before she could manage to get her legs to steady. She struggled toward her bedroom door.
“Help me old friend” She stared at Death until he inched from his chair. He opened the door and Arien stepped on to the creaky old wooden floors, she began slowly and painfully walking down the corridor. She paused to see if Death was following her, but he just stood in the doorway, brow furrowed and hands tucked in his pockets. With each step she took and the further she got from Death her heart beat got stronger and life seemed to flush back into her. The wooden floors soon became cold marble, a large ornate door stood at the end of the hall before her. The urge to keep moving was getting stronger and stronger. The invisible hand on her own seemed to pull her toward the door. She hesitated as she reached for the handle, her hand trembled. She could hear the gears inside the door turning, the click of the latch caused her heart to stop beating. She gathered all her strength and pushed open the door. Her heart pulsed. She looked back at Death. He was now closely behind her with a calm look on his face.

“Not now” she whispered. “Just a little longer.” One foot was now through the door, her heart pulsed harder. The pain from it fighting death was almost too much to bare but she kept pressing on.

Death slowly moved toward her his calmness suddenly overtaken with urgency. He reached out his hand to Arien.

“I cannot enter this place Arien, do not go.”

Arien paused and turned. She began reaching back through the door for his hand. A soft breeze floated from the dark passage behind her. The breeze carried with it her name. At first she was unsure she heard it but the look on Death’s face reassured her she had. She pulled her hand back through the door.

“Arien please do not go, I cannot enter” His voice trembled. In this instance he knew of his mistake. Beyond that door Death could not enter, Death had no power.

“Arien, Arien…”

She however could not hear his voice anymore, she heard only the darkness. It called to her and pulled her to it. Arien slowly made her way through the darkness. Her heart fully beating, pumping madly inside her chest. She stepped deeper and deeper into the dark, the whisper growing to a deafening roar inside her.