Phoenix and Protector
an excerpt

“Wait ,wait, wait, let’s go over this again. You’re telling me that I have to come back from the dead to fulfill a prophecy made before my birth, way, way, way before my birth that I’ve never even heard about because I didn’t fulfill it when I was alive and If I don’t do it, the world will collapse? Let’s back up a little bit, a few minutes or something.” I said angrily, gazing around the room, looking for the source of the booming voice that had been telling me and amazing and almost certainly impossible story for the past- well, for a while. Being dead really didn’t do much for your sense of time. Also not much for your sense of gravity, the whole time I had been floating tantalizingly close to a black throne that looked really inviting, but had been unable to reach it. The whole situation didn’t do much for my temper. “And who the heck are you anyways? Where are you?” I thought I heard a sigh come from the throne, but that couldn’t have been it, because there was nothing on the throne that could have done it. I had studied. I should know. I had studied it the entire time. There wasn’t much else to do in this whacked out place. The only thing I really hoped for at the moment was that I wouldn’t spend all of my death here. It was boring...Something sighed.
“Patience, Princess Ariana du Montrey. You are basically right, just calm yourself down, and let me work out the kinks with you.”
“Were are you? Who are you? Show yourself! I’m tired of talking to the ceiling!” I screamed, fed up with all the mysteriouoso. So much for keeping my temper and calming myself. The voice laughed bitterly at me.
“Do you truly want to see? Not many people- of any species, human, Tilhao, or elf do. I seriously doubt you do. Hardly anybody likes coming face to face with their mortality.” I could feel the blood draining my face. So much for being a stupid brave warrior- princess thing. All I felt like was a frightened little girl. I stood my ground, thought, better to know now than get taken by surprise later, and who else would have the chance? I asked yet again,
“Show yourself! I’d rather know what I ‘m going to die like than spending this life-death-purgatory- whatever, talking to a bloody ceiling.” The voice chuckled, showing real amusement for once.
“ You have spunk, Ariana. I don’t think I would have as much myself, but maybe I do; because I’m pretty sure that I am you. Is it so wrong to be surprised at the both of us?”
“It’s Ria. Please. “ I said, suddenly ashamed, and blushing. “ I’m not a princess. What kind of a princess let’s herself get killed while traveling through her home city?” I felt small and insignificant. “I’m no one special. I wish I wasn’t the princess.”
“ Au contraraire, Mademoiselle, you are special indeed.” the voice was now definitely coming from somewhere instead of just echoing around the area “ But I could agree with you on the princess thing. It makes you awfully conspicuous, doesn’t it, dear?” It didn’t seem as booming to me, and now I could tell it was female. Then a black mist began condensing in front of me.
“Ahhh!” I screamed, and fell backwards, fortunately staying on the same level and not falling into the nothingness that surrounded me. The mist coalesced into a small figure as I looked at it warily.
“You.” The figure… my death said shortly. “Are the most special being in the age of the Tilhao. You are Phoenix. And I am your death. Or rather your final one. You must understand that your other death’s get canceled out by your returning to life, or else we would have a pretty good party up here-“ The girl- my death. I reminded myself, stopped shortly and blushed. “I’m not supposed to tell you about that.”
“Well, I didn’t learn much, did I?” I said, looking at my death. She looked almost the same as same green eyes, same stubborn face, and me but her hair was so much shorter, and she was- some how, in a way I couldn’t identify, some how different. She was more muscled, and looked more ready for a battle but - I froze. One could almost have ignored the slit throat if one looked at the face, focused on the face. The throat even now was bleeding sluggishly, staining the mail and tunic my death wore. The tunic… My breath caught in my throat. Can’t a girl get a break? On the white tunic was a fiery phoenix. “ Haven’t you had enough of goading me?” I demanded, pointing at the phoenix. “I’m not a phoenix! I’m just a normal Tilhao who happened to be born a princess, which means I get taught nothing practical, as usual! Why don’t you have the crest?” My death smiled beautifully at me, freezing me to the spot and filling me with ice.
“Because you Are Phoenix, it’s what you are. You cannot deny it, as much as I can deny that I am a death, I am dead. You are dead now, you are going to go back to life and you’ll go back to the world of Altonia, you’re going to become a Phoenix,” my death looked around, than added eerily, “The Gods have willed it so. The only question there is now is of the right time to send you back.” I couldn’t help it. I stared at her with incredulity.
“The gods have willed it so? That’s the only reason that I am going to come back to life? Because I’m a twisted pawn in some cosmic game of chess that they like playing?”
“Oh, no, dear, you aren’t just a pawn. You’re the Queen. And you’re moving now.” I stared at her. What the heck did she mean? I suddenly felt small again. Dang it, what was it the gods business that I got killed? Why was it me that was the special one? Why not my kids? Why not someone I had never heard of someone very far away? I don’t really know what’s happening, but it was happening now, to me, so I should deal.
“How will we know when is the right time? How am I here anyway? Why me? How did I die anyways? The last I felt was me blacking out because of…. “ My death put a blood stained and dirty finger on my lips, and I saw for the first time that she was wearing two swords and daggers.
I don’t know why you died this time, and I won’t until you die my death.” I shivered. Death was all fine and good, but more than one? What is so whacked up with you, gods, I thought, habitually staring up at the ceiling.
“What’s going to happen to me to turn me into- well, you, before I die my final death?” I asked, suppressing the small and quivery feeling that maybe I didn’t want to know. My death looked around nervously, and shook her head nervously, grabbing onto her sword.
“I’m not allowed to tell you, ” she whispered.
“Why not? It’s not like anything can happen to you, is it?” I asked, nervously, and at the same time relieved. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. “ Who won’t let you tell me?”
“It won’t let me tell you, it screws it up. And a death is already dead, but that doesn’t mean we can’t feel pain,” her eyes widened. “Tholas’s a bastard, always complaining about it’s fate threads. You’ll have to figure it all out on your own, Ria, darling. I can’t help you here.” My eyes widened almost as large as hers.
“One question, that you probably can answer,” I said tentatively, “ Will I turn into you . . . . . . . when I . . . . . . .. Go that last time? If so, what will happen… to you?” My death’s eyes turned a cold, dark green.
“I don’t know, darling. I don’t think so. But I haven’t talked to anyone who’s done it . . ..” I suddenly felt tears in my eyes. I didn’t want my death, as strange as it seemed, I didn’t want my death to disappear. “Aw, shush, Ria, it isn’t as bad as all that,” my death tried to comfort me, with little success. “Maybe when you die, you’ll have become like me, so much like me that we can’t tell each other apart.” She pulled me into an impulsive hug. “It’s just getting to you now, darling, isn’t it, you’ve thought all this time it was a weird dream or something, and just now, it’s sinking in.” I nodded, hugging my death with all my might.
“How did this happen?” My death shook her head.
“Darlin’, even if I knew I wouldn’t be allowed to tell you. I’m pretty sure you can thank the gods for screwing you up, but hey…. They’re the gods and you’re you. What can ya do?” She shrugged. “As much as I may look gods, all I am is a death. Everybody’s got one.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, curious in spite of myself. “What do your death’s do? Have I had other deaths?” My death shrugged again.
“ I don’t really know. Deaths are supposed to follow you around when your death becomes close, and we catch your spirit as you die. We take you to where you’re supposed to go, and we explain it all to you. I guess the gods thought it was easier than just having Inatlos worrying about doing all of that for all of the deaths everywhere.”
“So you guys are sort of anti- guardians?” I said fascinated. So many possibilities. Could people see their deaths, could we tell how we were going to die if we saw our deaths beforehand, could we avoid death? I felt a sickening feeling growing in the pit of my stomach as I pondered these questions, and I knew it wasn’t because of them. .
“Um, death, Ria, me,” I said nervously. “ Is this- feeling normal, like, when people start feeling their death or something?” I looked around, but my death was nowhere to be seen, and a moment later, she reappeared with no flair, kneeling on the floor.
“It’s time for you to go, Ria. Don’t fight it; the pain’ll only get worse if you fight. Just stay with it. And… take care of your body, okay, darling? No one else in all of history will get this chance. “ She stood up warily, and kissed my forehead gently. “Remember, Ria, I’ll always be there for you, even if you won’t see me, and won’t be able to hear or sense me in any way . . .. I’ll be there for you. I love you, Ria; I’m a part of you. You won’t be able to leave me. Well, now, you will, but this is the only time. Take care, darlin’” I watched as she dissolved back into mist and felt the sensation get stronger. I gasped in pain suddenly, as I felt a jerk in my head and I spun back to Altonia, my real world.