It was the first snow of winter when his life ended...

The bitter cold wind whipped across the gaudy, jeweled caravan parked near a tent. The tent was adorned with animal skins and sashes but inside was dark with the only lighting coming from candles. Two beans sat at a table constructed of bone. One was a glorious white while the other was a light pink that was stained crimson. Behind the white one stood six guards at the ready and another bean, black with yellow like the candles themselves. The white one's brother.

"I ask you, witch," the white bean began, "are you really as great as they say you are?"

Amandi's eyes fixed on him like a predator hunting prey-- soulless, sharp, and hungry. "My name inspires fear for good reason." She leaned in and smiled, her teeth flashing. "Cassius."

Cassius didn't flinch that she knew his name. Most everyone knew his name. He was, after all, firstborn prince of a well-known kingdom. "You don't scare me."

"Everyone who comes to me is afraid of something." Her gray eyes glistened from the candles on the bone table. "I can tell you're no different."

It's true. For all his life, Cassius danced with the fear of death, and being the prince he had a large target on his back. Just this past year, four of his cupbearers were poisoned and many citizens were arrested for a suspected uprising against the monarchy. And while Cassius feared death, he was also grossly obsessed with it. Damaged at birth with a weakened immune system, he would often be bedridden and nearly died on several occasions. It was those times that he'd watch priests, warriors, and his own father- the king- quake in fear of the concept. Death and dying.

Cassius's stoic, proper posture didn't break though he hesitated to answer. "As future king, I have the responsibility to defend my kingdom... and to expand it." On those words, he met Amandi's eyes.

"To conquer other kingdoms." She elaborated, seeing past his bureaucratic language.

Silence hung in the air. Then, Cassius snapped and his brother dropped a large bag of golden coins on the table. "Make me immortal, witch."

Amandi's grin grew and a vile chuckle leaked from her mouth. "Immortality comes with a price greater than gold..." She stood and began making a circle on the ground with a bowl of blood. "To gain immortality, you first must die. Every day. With each death becoming more gruesome than the last." She locked eyes with the candle-looking bean, who suddenly trembled. "With your help..."

Cassius watched as she began the ritual. He grinned, suddenly looking more like a viper than a bean. "A small price to pay..."

----

White puffs dissipated into the air as Cassius panted. Arrows and swords stuck in his bleeding body but nothing could kill him. In his wake, snow was painted red with the blood of a rival army. Cassius laughed a mad, insane laugh. He would be... eternal...

History

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