The Beginning of the End

"What kind of person doesn't like cake?!"

Cheyenne smirked as the birthday girl, all of six years old, stared at her in awe.

"Everybody likes cake!" she persisted. "Especially this kind! It has chocolate, and chocolate icing, and chocolate buttons on top, and chocolate syrup! It's chocolate heaven!" She lifted her little chin to the sky and closed her eyes, as if praising a deity for the gift she was bestowed on her special day.

"Not necessarily." Cheyenne shrugged. "You kiddos sure love it, but adults are super boring. I mean..."

She leaned down to the wee child's ear and whispered, "We actually like vegetables."

"Ewwww!" Ari squealed and scrunched her tiny nose up. "If that's what happens when you get bigger, I'm not gonna get bigger."

"Yeah, there's a contract and everything, man. It says that once you're a big person, you have to hate sweets and love vegetables, and gross out every kid on the planet. Pretty strict rules."

"Gross. I gotta warn Silas, he's gonna be eight soon, which is practically a big person. He should know." Ari nodded seriously while Cheyenne suppressed a laugh.

Ari pranced off with the slice of cake while Cheyenne continued surveying the party. Ari made a fine case for her birthday dessert, but nothing she said would convince Cheyenne to enjoy it. She was suspicious and on a mission.

The guests all seemed to be behaving well enough despite the presence of liquor for the adults, but any moment the unexpected could happen and Cheyenne needed to be prepared. Being prepared meant being alert, and being alert meant being suspicious. It was emotionally draining, but it had to be done. It was her life's calling, and she had known this from a young age.

Ari's mother summoned everyone for gift time. Cheyenne stayed near the back of the crowd, the back yard of Ari's house jam packed with family and friends surrounding Ari as she giggled and screamed as each new gift was presented for her to open. It made it easy enough to blend in, as the parents had been too busy to formally introduce themselves to everyone while the rest of the crowd was photographing Ari's treasures for her special day. If anyone asked, Cheyenne was just a family friend, invited along by an Uncle or cousin who insisted Ari would like more visitors.

Something was supposed to happen that day, and maybe it was against the rules to save Ari, but Cheyenne had grown frustrated with rules and guidelines while her heart grew for Ari's bright future. The problem was, Cheyenne did not know what was meant to happen; she just hoped she'd figure it out at the party, where said event was predicted to take place.

Presents were opened, photos taken left and right, and Ari's smile grew so large Cheyenne wasn't sure how her sweet, rosy cheeks weren't sore from the happiness.

As things settled down, Cheyenne's senses raised an alert: whatever was supposed to happen that day was creeping slowly toward the party, like a slow-moving blinding fog to take over every essence of happiness. She closed her eyes and lifted her chin to the sunny sky, mumbling the words she'd known since being a child herself.

Within moments, a downpour of heavy, cold rain destroyed the party fun. Ari's mom beckoned the family indoors while various attendees gathered food and drinks to salvage. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the busy moments that would save Ari's special day, Cheyenne strolled to the edge of the yard to peer curiously through the trees behind Ari's home.

After a short wait, she saw a familiar friend.

"Hello, Death."

Death emerged, looking less than pleased.

"You know the repercussions of intervention, witch." The Reaper was never one to greet appropriately, as she was much too focused on the job at hand. "The girl must go. It is her time."

Cheyenne tilted her head. "Is it? Do you know this for certain?"

"My Fates are never wrong. My list is written in blood, signed off in approval by beings you couldn't imagine. Let me do my job, witch."

"I'm afraid I can't."

Death widened her dark blue eyes in shock. "We have crossed paths many times, Cheyenne, but you have never defied my contracts outright. What is it, I wonder, that makes this child so special to you?"

Cheyenne smirked as she watched realization come across Death's face.

"I see. She is yours."

Flashbacks to child birth, the adoption process, and painful memories flickered through Cheyenne's mind as she maintained a poker face through the devastating images her mind could never erase.

"You cannot save her, Cheyenne." Death warned me in a low, yet soothing voice. "It is her time."

"I already have saved her. I gave up my entire world so she could live the one she deserved. I will never stop giving for her. So, make of this what you will, Death, but I am ready."

Death opened her mouth to speak but snapped it shut, watching Cheyenne cross back to the dessert table where a single piece of chocolate cake was left behind in the storm. Cheyenne picked up the plate and looked Death directly in the eye.

"I give you myself in exchange for the child."

"For what purpose?" Death demanded, a tone laced through her melodic voice.

Cheyenne pushed as large of a piece of cake as possible into her mouth. Swallowing was difficult, as her throat had already begun to swell and close from the first taste, but she forced it down until there was nothing left. With a weak grin, Cheyenne collapsed to the ground.

"You see, you came here seeking a budding witch far before she should be gone." Cheyenne began to choke through the effects of a strong allergic reaction. "You forget, Death, that Ari means everything to a lot of people. I lost her, and her parents won't lose her next."

Cheyenne coughed, turned red, sending a silent spell to the Earth spirits before she laid on the wet grass. The power of Death overcame her. Within just a few minutes, she was dead.

Unfortunately, Cheyenne had a vicious allergy to chocolate.

Death glanced up to see Ari's little button nose pressed against the glass, staring curiously with her head tilted as swirls and sparkles of magic circled her head until they twisted beautifully around the rest of her body, finally entering her soul through where her heart lay. Cheyenne's spirit stood beside her former shell, waiting for Death to react.

"You know you cannot work around this. Me and Ari were not meant to die together and you know it. You must leave here with only one soul."

Death shook her head.

"Your afterlife will ensure you pay. Take my hand, I will take you there."

"Gladly," Cheyenne responded, lacing her fingers through the skeletal hand of Death's hand. "Have fun looking for Ari again, Lady of the Nether. She will be a force to be reckoned with, and that is my prophecy written in blood and magic. Approved by beings you wouldn't even imagine."

The look of exasperation on Death's face told Cheyenne she had pushed enough buttons.

"You're bluffing."

Cheyenne's head tilted with a slight smirk. "Am I?"

"You've interfered with fate. You will face trial."

"Perhaps it is you who will face trial, Death."

Cheyenne took one last look at Ari, who looked like a glowing entity of pure, white magic, reflecting off her darkened skin tone in the most beautiful manner.

Death reached her cold, bony hand toward Cheyenne's spirit and waited for her to place her hand in Death's icy grasp. Cheyenne stared longingly at Ari, noticing very little facial expressions. She guessed she got that from her birth mother.

Cheyenne's corpse on the ground didn't frighten Ari, to Cheyenne and Death's surprise. Ari looked curious, and Cheyenne knew this incident could potentially drive her future lessons of the craft. Cheyenne begged and pleaded with the spirits from beyond, seeking permission to guide Ari in the directions she needed to blossom into her entire, true self. Help her find peace in what she witnessed.

From what Cheyenne knew of her, she had to work to find her true self, or all of this will have been for naught.

"She will live." Cheyenne stated firmly as the images of her spirit and Death herself began to evaporate. "She just won't know that I did like that cake."