Beyond the Rabbit Hole

The Coming Journey

  Alyss made her way back to her room. Morgyn was still asleep when she got there. Her lips curved up into a gentle smile. She sat beside Morgyn on the bed and caressed his cheek. She laid down beside him.

Two days passed while Morgyn was asleep, and Alyss never could join him. On the second night, she stood on the roof of the keep, gazing up at the porcelain glow emanating from the three moons scattered about the black sky. Alyss let out a deep breath and smiled at the sky.

"Alyss?" a gentle voice called out to her from behind.

"I thought you might never wake up." Alyss chuckled. "What took you so long." She turned around to face the man standing on the top of the staircase leading up to the roof. "Did you have sweet dreams?" She snickered.

Morgyn stepped away from the staircase and approached the embrasure beside Alyss and looked out over the fort. "I can't say. I don't remember much after I was eaten."

Alyss narrowed her eyes. "You were eaten?"

Morgyn nodded. "I thought I was going to die." He took a short pause. "It's strange, isn't it? For thousands of years, I helped souls pass through death as if it were a natural thing to do. What could possibly be wrong with something that natural – that inherent to life. All things must come to an end. I failed to understand why some who lived long past the average would be so afraid. How could a man who lived for ninety years still cling so desperately to life after more than a lifetime's worth of living. How could one be so ungrateful as to flee from the one sent to guide you after death? How could he be willing to rob a living creature of dozens of years of life just for the chance to prolong his for another? And yet, in that moment, I was scared. When death loomed over me and my life played out before my eyes. . ." Morgyn clenched his fist. "I have lived for thousands of years! And yet, what flashed before me was all that I hadn't yet done. Good men died for me, Alyss. Why did I survive, when they weren't allowed?"

Alyss stood beside him and looked out over the fort. She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. "Life is so much more than just the length of it – I think we're the perfect of examples of that. We survived for so long, but did we ever truly get to live? We watched so many others get to live their lives, that it may seem for a moment, that we too lived ours. But we didn't. We were trapped in ephemeral bodies, unable to even so much as be seen until the end of another's story. But this is our story. This is our life now. We have finally been given the chance to live, and you have every right to be terrified when it seems like that chance is starting to slip through your fingers. You were right to kill that thing, and I'm glad you survived. I would rather have you beside me for another year, than a hundred other people for a dozen."

Morgyn bit his lip. "Do we really have the right to take the life of another just to prolong our own?" He winced and turned around.

"Everything and everybody has the right to life, Morgyn." Alyss put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a sincere smile. "Don't ever forget that."

Like an instinctual response, Morgyn's hand moved up to his shoulder, and a wave of relief washed over him when his skin met hers. His eyes closed for a moment, and the tension in his body seemed to dissipate. His lips began to curl into a smile as he turned to face her. Even in a strange world and new surroundings, your strength persists. Perhaps. . . If I continue to stay by your side, I could become strong enough to deserve it. "Thank you, Alyss."

A quiet chuckle escaped her lips as her cheeks began to redden. "Of course!"

"So, what's next?" Morgyn brought her hand off his shoulder and held it firmly in between them.