Till Death Did Us Part

I1I

A/N: This is an entry for the Halloween Vault 2, Horns and Halos, Return to the Living. It is a short story, hope you enjoy.

Charlotte looked as she always had, in this land, a girl about 16 with blond, almost white, hair and warm, brown eyes with one exception, a small dark blood-red band circling her forehead and hair, like a crown. 

A mark of Hell.

She had died trying to climb Mount. Frexahk, freezing to death, slowly, while her best friend died beside her, and she had been placed in Hell for trying, selfishly, for fame and for money and letting another die for her.

For the last five years, she had made a choice. 

She would not go with the others on Hallows' Eve to join the living for that one day.

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Emma had hair as black as the Abyss, not that she had ever or would ever see it, ice blue eyes, and a light beige brand around her hair, acting like her halo. She, like many others, had died five years ago, and, like so many more, had the chance to reenter the living world, one day a year. 

Every year she went out, trying to find Charlotte, calling her name repeatedly, never getting a reply.

They had promised each other that, wherever they ended up, they would always meet up at their sacred Halloween place, Charlotte never came.

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Two little girls, dressed as princesses, skipped down the street with their plastic pumpkins, halfway filled with candy. They raced to the next house, their parents watching from the street.

"Trick or Treat!" the little girls said to the stranger who opened the door.

The stranger smiled, her brown hair temporarily dyed black to go with her skull costume, and dropped two candies into each of the little girls' baskets. 

The fair-headed girl, dressed as Rapunzel, gave a shriek of excitement, "Two candies! Oh, thank you, thank you!" She turned to her friend and exclaimed, "We'll come here every year!"

The one with the dark, dark hair dressed as Snow White merely smiled back at the stranger and proceeded to race to the next house next to her boisterous friend.

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Charlotte would forever remember Halloween, she would always dress up as a Heavenly, pretending to be the selfless damsel who rushes in, hoping that she could save people.

Good intentions could lead to bad decisions, and bad decisions lead downwards.

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Emma channeled her energy, and used summoning spell, her power flew in all directions, hitting the barrier that separates Hell from the rest of the world.

She had known her friend had been in Hell, being a Heavenly without her friend had allowed her that small mercy.

She just wished that Charlotte could be with her.

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Charlotte watched a summoning spell hit the borders of Hell and wondered who, in Heaven, would be looking for someone in Hell as her feet traversed the lands she had become used to.

She walked closer and closer to the border, invisible to most, with a fluttering feeling in her chest, something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Hope.

She took one deep breath and crossed the border.