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“...For they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be.”
Death lingered after Jack finished his oath (invisible to all save the dead and dying, unless she wished otherwise), waited until the party drifted toward the dining room and North’s elaborate feast and subsequent celebration, and then drifted to the windows, and to the moon.
The Man in the Moon asked what she had been thinking.
Death shrugged. She had the Duty. She had her center.
But there had been plans! the Lunanoff protested.
Death snorted. She pointed out Death was not generally expected to bow to the whims of mortals, especially when it came to the time of another’s death. Especially when such mortals interfered in the lives of children.
There will be consequences, the Man in the Moon said direly.
And that...gave Death pause. The Duty carried with it the understanding that the freedom of not being bound by the Duty came with the responsibility of accepting the consequences of one’s choices. Acting within the confines of the Duty meant Death had no such responsibility.
But she had made a choice.
It had been given to her, but it was still a choice she had made.
She nodded to the moon, and accepted responsibility for the consequences of her choice.
It gave her a twinge of unease, of uncertainty. But she held onto the faith that the choice she had made was the right one.
Jack’s smile was all the confirmation she needed.