Contrary to what he had made Shivawn think last night, Darius couldn't sleep.

His mind was filled with thoughts of Shivawn's lips on his, the way his body moved so responsively. God, he was so sensitive and it was such an incredible turn on. Remembering how his body had curved, the moan that had slipped past his lips when he had kissed the soft spot on his neck had Darius shifting uncomfortably in the bed. He had never wanted anyone so badly in his life.

He sighed as he stared at the ceiling.

"You do know that Shivawn's in love with you, right?"

He shook his head to clear it. Shivawn wasn't in love with him, Tee Tee was mistaken. What they had was a strong bond; they were literally best friends so of course they felt that deeply about each other. Shivawn had no one at home and so Darius was the next best thing and vice versa.

Shivawn was merely curious about his sexual side and that was why he'd asked Darius to kiss him.

He glanced down at the warm body in his arms, loving the healthy pink tint in Shivawn's cheeks and the steady rise and fall of his breathing, pearly white hair tousled wildly all over his head and cheeks. He brushed the strands away, gently running his fingers through the thick silky locks and Shivawn tilted his head a little and literally purred in his sleep. The sound was not doing anything to quench the flames of desire burning inside Darius.

Just as he had finally managed to distract himself enough to fall asleep, Shivawn's room door came barging open and Tee Tee stumbled into the room. The slam of the door woke Shivawn up and the two princes sat up quickly.

"Tee Tee?" Shivawn asked sleepily, "What's wrong?"

"We need to leave," she hissed at them, "right now!"

"What? Why?" Shivawn mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Remember when I told you we couldn't trust Julie?"

Darius nodded, remembering that Tee Tee had refused to tell them her 'nickname'.

"Well, there was no point because she knows who I am and wants to keep me here! She thinks because I'm a powerful magical being that I can stop the general and the canoobis so that they can regain their land but I won't! All my life, all I did was kill, kill, and kill! And I'm sick and tired of it!"

Darius quickly got up, noticing for the first time that Tee Tee looked dishevelled. Her rainbow hair was frizzy and all over the place and she was currently in one of the Dakartean garbs, a loose silver gown made of soft silk for sleeping. Her feet were touching the ground and she was leaning against the door.

Wait, her feet were touching the ground!

"Tee Tee?" Darius asked tentatively, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Forget about me and get off that damn bed! We need to leave and we need to leave now!" she snapped, turning around and walking from the room.

Darius quickly pulled Shivawn with him and the three of them ran to the front door. Tee Tee tried to open it but it was locked. Darius tried the key and nothing budged. Shivawn peeked out the window and saw a hovering car stop in front of their house. Julie got out followed by three armed men and they headed to their door.

Shivawn paled, "Oh god, she's got men with guns."

"Shit!" Tee Tee cursed, "Quickly, we need to use a window!"

The princes suddenly found themselves wide awake and picked up the pace. Tee Tee stumbled towards the window, her steps faltering and it was obvious that she wasn't used to walking with the way she kept stumbling and murmuring to herself.

She was staring at the floor and it sounded like she was saying, 'there's nothing on the ground Tee Whyte Tee. The floor is safe' over and over again, her eyes wide with fear like a monster was going to suddenly sprout from the ground and swallow her on the spot.

Shivawn frowned in concern, "Tee Tee, why don't you float? You look like you're in pain."

"I'm fine!" she snapped and ran to the back window, nudging it but it refused to give way.

The front door's handle rattled a bit and there was a sound of a code being punched into the keypad outside the house.

With a feminine growl of frustration, Tee Tee waved her hands in the air and the entire back wall of the house flew off its hold, flying into the distance. Luckily, there was nothing in the distance behind the house. Shivawn and Darius stared wide-eyed at seeing Tee Tee's power first hand. She turned around to face them and they noticed that her eyes were faintly glowing.

The front door finally opened and Julie and the three men burst into the room.

"Get the girl! I don't care about the other two!" she gasped at the men and they ran forward.

Tee Tee waved her hands again and she, Shivawn and Darius were suddenly floating and then they were flying with alarming speed towards the earth above, leaving Julie cursing below them and the men staring helplessly.

"Hang on!" Tee Tee shouted over the noise of the air whooshing past their faces.

Just as they were about to collide with the earth, there was a feeling of being bloated and suddenly, the three of them were on the surface, teetering dizzily on their feet from Tee Tee's abrupt teleportation.

"No time to waste," Tee Tee wheezed. She sounded like she was in pain. "We need to keep moving!"

Shivawn's worry burst to the surface and he ran and cradled the stumbling Tee Tee into his arms, "Tee Tee you will stop this instant! What is wrong with you?"

"Drugs...in the party...my drink..." she stuttered, "I knew...I knew there was a drug in my...in my drink but...I thought I could...withstand...not used to..."

"Shh," he whispered, feeling anger flare in him that the Dakarteans could do such a thing to a six year old child. Well, eighteen, but they couldn't have known that. "They can't force you, now can they? If they want you to do anything you can easily say no."

"Are you insane?" Tee Tee gasped with renewed vehemence, "They drugged me to keep me there! Do you honestly think with that kind of attitude that they would take no for an answer?"

Darius cursed, "She's right. We really need to start moving."

"I'll carry her," Shivawn said lightly.

"I can walk," she said but her voice sounded heavy and she went limp in Shivawn's arms.

Shivawn easily picked her into his arms and the two princes began moving, unsure of their direction but knowing that they had to get far away from Dakarta. They kept glancing behind and above them, remembering that Overground Dakarta was literally just above their heads and anyone could be after them.

After about ten minutes, the ground shook like there was a violent earthquake for about a minute, sending Darius and Shivawn dropping to the floor and trying to regain their balance. When it was over, there was a very brief silence and then the sounds of screeches and wails filled the air.

Shivawn glanced at Darius, his eyes filled with fear. The canoobis.

"Run!" Darius gasped.

They both got up and began to run, panting heavily. The sound of the screeches drew closer and the princes immediately picked up speed, running like their lives depended on it. Then there was another sound, the sound of a car's engine. This made them run harder but the car soon caught up with them.

Shivawn glanced to his side and realized it was the prince's bodyguard slash adviser to Dakarta – Joey.

"Get in!" he shouted over the screeching.

"No!" Shivawn growled. "You drugged her. We can't trust you."

"The canoobis will kill you! I apologize for Julie's behaviour. She got desperate! Please come back and let's talk about this!"

Shivawn was torn and so was Darius. Joey seemed really sincere, but they couldn't trust him. Tee Tee's limp body in his arms was proof that they couldn't. They had drugged her with something powerful and he knew he couldn't risk it.

The sound of the wails were now so close, Shivawn felt like his ears were bleeding.

"Please!" Joey gasped, "I really don't want to do this!"

Darius frowned suspiciously at what he said and made up his mind, he wasn't going to stop running,

"We're not coming with you," he said. "Shivawn, keep going."

He heard the sound of heavy footsteps and when he turned to glance at his back, his eyes grew wide at the magnitude of the creatures racing towards him, their snouts raised, horrible wails emitting from them.

Joey glanced desperately behind them and back to Darius, "There's too many! You won't make it!"

Darius was about to finally give in when Shivawn suddenly stopped running. Darius turned around to urge him on, frowning in confusion when he saw the look on Shivawn's face. His eyes were wide with shock and he stood, frozen on the spot. Tee Tee slipped from his arms and fell to the floor and it was then that Darius saw the red patch growing in Shivawn's chest.

His own heart stopped and he felt like a part of his soul was ripped violently from his chest when Shivawn fell to the floor, coughing up blood.

"NO!" he screamed, vaguely noticing that Joey had suddenly disappeared.

The sounds of the canoobis felt far away as Darius rushed to Shivawn's side, his heart in his throat, his eyes filled with hot tears.

"No! Don't you dare do this to me Lily or I swear I'll – I'll –"

"D-Dar-rius," Shivawn gurgled, blood trickling down the corner of his lips, reaching a hand up to touch his face. He struggled to breathe through the blood choking him but he could feel himself slipping. He reached around desperately, grasping for Darius's hand, "d-don't l-leave me," he wheezed.

Shivawn suddenly stilled, his eyes taking on a glazed expression and his hand fell weakly to the floor.

A violent sob of disbelief rose from Darius's throat and he clutched his ribcage, feeling like his heart was being ripped apart in his chest. The pain was indescribable. Oh God, no, Shivawn wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead; but those lovely violet eyes, unblinking, staring blankly into space said otherwise.

Darius felt a searing hot pain explode in his chest before everything went black.

There was warmth all around him; such beautiful warmth – wrapping him in a protective cocoon.

Darius was tempted but he refused to open his eyes. His chest ached and he curled into a ball, shutting his eyes tightly in an attempt to shut out the world. What was his life without Shivawn in it? Nothing. No one cared about him at home. No one cared to tolerate him. No one had ever looked at his face without flinching and drawing away.

No one had ever meant so much to him.

Darius, get up.

He ignored the voice, clutching his chest and praying the canoobis –wherever they were – would come and eat him up or do whatever terrible thing they did to people. He didn't care anymore. His life had lost meaning.

Oh for god's sake get your ass up!

Darius frowned a little at the voice. It sounded vaguely familiar. He forced his eyes open and had to blink several times to make sure he wasn't in an illusion. Everything around him was white – it was like he was standing in a more attractive version of The Mist. But he couldn't see anything – at least in the mist you could see, even though it was vague, but here, all he could see around him was pure white light. It felt like he was floating in clouds. As he stood, feeling unsure if he should move or not – afraid of what he would find in the stark whiteness – a figure in the distance appeared.

His eyes widened when he noticed that it was Julie.

Pain and anger filled up his entire being and he made to run for her but he passed right through her, like she was a ghost. He glanced at his lightly shaking hands with disbelief and then spun around to face her. It was then he noticed that she didn't actually look real; she looked like a ghost. He could see right through her to the surrounding whiteness. She glanced at him with tears in her eyes, her hands clamping over her mouth as she tried to stop the sobs from escaping her lips.

"I'm sorry!" she gasped, "Killing you both was the only way to get you out of it!"

Killing you both was the only way to get you out of it.

The words repeated in his head like a mantra and filled with pure blinding rage, he screamed at her, "You killed h-him!" his voice broke on the last word and he felt like he was falling apart.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she repeated over and over again, her ghost slowly fading into the air until all that was left was Darius and her echoing apology in the white space.

Darius sank to his knees. Was this heaven? The afterlife? He didn't really care. If Shivawn wasn't here, then he wasn't going to enjoy it. The least the gods could do was wipe his fucking memory instead of letting him live with the memory of Shivawn dying in his arms.

"D-Darius?"

He froze, his eyes glued to the floor at the sound of Shivawn's voice.

Why did the gods chose to torture him so? What the hell had he done to deserve it?

"Darius is that really...is that really y-you?"

He couldn't help it. The slight tremble in his voice made Darius look up. He immediately noticed that Shivawn wasn't a ghost. He couldn't see right through him to the enveloping whiteness. He was real and standing there, dressed in the clothes he'd been wearing in Dakarta before they'd run away.

Darius stood up, not even noticing or planning what he was doing and before the other prince could take in a much needed breath, Darius had crushed his lips in a passionate bruising kiss.

Shivawn moaned and melted into the kiss, his body moulding into Darius's provocatively, hands sneaking up into his hair to hold him in place. Darius plundered his mouth with furious intensity, kissing him like he was a drowning man and Shivawn was the only source of air left. He sifted his fingers into Shivawn's silky hair, stroking his scalp roughly, making Shivawn gasp against his lips, his hips suddenly bucking.

Darius groaned, low and deep, a sound so primal it sent shivers up and down Shivawn's spine.

They finally pulled apart, gasping for air and trembling slightly.

"Don't you ever, ever die on me again!" Darius hissed passionately and then leaned down to kiss him again. And again and again until Shivawn's lips were bright red and swollen and they were gasping in-between kisses, their cheeks flushed with passion. Darius ran his hands all over Shivawn's body, as if still not believing that Shivawn was here, alive and with him. He was reminded of Shivawn's sensitivity when the prince curled desperately into his touches, tiny whimpers escaping his lips, muffled a little by their furious kissing.

After what felt like hours, they pulled apart again, gasping desperately for air, their bodies shaking lightly with need and pleasure.

"I-I'm sorry," Shivawn managed to say hoarsely after managing to catch his breath.

"No, don't apologise." Darius hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry for freaking out. I thought I lost you."

Shivawn hugged him back, his chest aching. He could remember all too clearly the panic in Darius's eyes when he was hit with an unbearable pain in his chest, the desperate need in the other prince's eyes as he begged him not to die and yet, he hadn't been able to stay awake.

The reality of the situation soon had him bursting into helpless tears. He tried to muffle them by clenching his teeth but it was useless – his body shook violently as he cried. He had felt so hopeless, like he had really died. He hadn't wanted to die! The look on Darius's face had broken his heart in those last few seconds and it was that hopeless look on his face that had Shivawn's sobs increasing.

Darius just held him tightly until the sobs finally subsided.

Shivawn, pulled away, wiping his eyes furiously, "What about Tee Tee?"

Well, it's about time!

And then the princes were suddenly falling.

The speed at which they were falling made it feel like their skin was about to rip away from their body and into the air. They were about to collide with what looked like a huge body of water, when they found themselves landing while sitting down, into a canoe.

Both breathing heavily from the adrenaline of their fall, they glanced around them. The water was clear and still, but that was all there was – water; lots and lots of it for miles in every direction. When they spun back to face their front, Shivawn screamed and jumped at the sight of the hooded figure standing by the other end of the canoe, digging a paddle into the water to move the boat.

"Typical," the figure said dryly just as there was a sound of giggling and Tee Tee suddenly landed in the boat, also seated but in front of the princes.

"Tee Tee!" Shivawn gasped and dragged her into his arms, hugging her tightly glad that she was okay.

Tee Tee blushed, squirming a little in his grasp, feeling uncomfortable, "lemme go!"

After a huge bear hug, he finally let her go and she slid away from him, blushing furiously. She turned around to acknowledge the hooded figure, squealing, "Hi Grim!"

Even though Shivawn couldn't see his face under the hood, he was extremely sure that the man rolled his eyes.

"Hello Tee Whyte Tee. You seem to like dying a lot," he muttered dryly, digging his paddle into the still water to keep the canoe moving, "What killed you this time?"

"Dakarteans," Tee Tee shivered dramatically at the word, "they're trustworthy but beware of the blonde with the ponytail called Julie. Deceitful one, that one."

The man in the hood chuckled, "What did I tell you about staying out of trouble, Tee Whyte?"

Tee Tee blushed and ducked her head, "Lay low and blend in. But I can't possibly blend in with this rainbow head of mine!"

The two of them laughed.

Darius and Shivawn were seriously lost, staring back and forth at the two people in front of them like they were aliens.

"Oh forgive my manners, Shivawn, Darius, say hi to the Grim Reaper!"

Shivawn's eyes grew wide and he glanced at the hooded figure, a tingle of fear racing up his spine.

"No need to be afraid, I'm actually quite friendly," the figure said cheerfully, "Except I'm all bones and rotten flesh – which explains the hood –"

Shivawn's face went white, and Tee Tee and the Grim Reaper burst out into fits of laughter.

"Oh my god, that face is priceless!" the Reaper laughed, reaching into his hood to wipe an imaginary tear, holding his paddle firmly in the other hand while Shivawn's cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

"I'm honestly not that scary," the Reaper laughed and then slowly reached for his hood, pausing dramatically for effect, "want to see what I really look like?"

Shivawn held his breath. He'd heard so many rumours about the Grim Reaper. Some say he was a skeleton, other's say he was a rotting corpse but either way the messenger of death was not something you'd like to look at. Despite all that, Shivawn couldn't help but be curious.

The Reaper teasingly played with the edge of the hood covering his face before abruptly shoving it away to reveal what was beneath. Shivawn held his breath unconsciously but what he saw was so far off of the descriptions that he allowed his breath out in a puff of air.

A beautiful face; beautiful but ghostly pale was staring at him. Enormous dark eyes eyed him with mischief, the eyes so big and round Shivawn felt like he was drowning in them. His lips were full and red, sharply contrasting with his pale skin and he had a cute button nose. An unruly mop of dark hair swivelled all over his face and cheeks.

"The Grim Reaper at your service," he grinned and did a mock bow.

Shivawn and Darius were too stunned to speak.

He grinned at them, "So, the gods decided to play nice, they thought it wasn't fair at all that the last minute of your life would be spent with you trying to avoid staring at a rotting corpse slash skeleton and so, this," he pointed proudly at his slim face, "was created."

"A-Are we dead?" Shivawn asked tentatively.

"Well, you do have to die to get here. I'm a messenger of death, not life or unconsciousness."

Darius swallowed, the memory of Shivawn dying in his arms all too real and fresh in his mind. He shook his head lightly to clear it, "So, we're dead then?"

The reaper smirked, "Let's just say that sometimes, you can cheat death."

Shivawn looked surprised and the reaper chuckled at his expression.

"You have the funniest faces, dude," he laughed, "anyway, yes, you can cheat death. Your friend here has done it several times," he said, nodding at Tee Tee, who blushed and ducked her head in shame.

Shivawn didn't want to think about the precious six year old dying or someone killing her unjustly. It just wasn't right. Despite only a few days passing, she had already come to mean so much to him.

"How exactly can you cheat death?" Darius asked curiously, "If you die, weren't you meant to die at that point in time?"

"Exactly!" the reaper exclaimed excitedly, "You weren't supposed to die at that point in time and that is how you can cheat death. The gods have everyone's life specially mapped out – if you happen to die earlier, you cheat death and go back to your life. That's what they call near-death experiences, even a coma or brief unconsciousness. You were supposed to die but it didn't happen."

"That's not necessarily cheating death," Darius frowned.

"Don't be a smart ass," the reaper grumbled, making Tee Tee and Shivawn laugh. Darius glared at Shivawn which only made him laugh harder.

He was beginning to get comfortable around the reaper and relaxed lightly on the wooden bench in the canoe, only then realizing that he'd been sitting so stiffly it was a wonder his spine hadn't cracked.

"I thought the reaper had a scythe?" Shivawn asked curiously.

The reaper grinned and flung the paddle out of the water. In literally the blink of an eye, what was supposed to be the flat head of the paddle was gone, replaced by the curved blade of the reaper's scythe, the handle turning from plain brown wood to a polished black.

"Isn't it beautiful?" he grinned, slowly twisting it so that the blade glistened slightly from the touch of light in the distance, "and before you ask, no, I don't rip people's heads off. The scythe is to prevent demons and other evil entities from blocking a spirit's entrance back into the spiritual worlds."

"Where are we? Is this the spiritual world?" Shivawn asked doubtfully, eyeing the huge expanse of water around them, no land or sign of life around them in the distance.

The reaper laughed politely, "gosh no! We're somewhere in between. Since you three aren't supposed to be dead, I have to travel through the river of lost souls and then you get sucked in and stuff and find yourself at the Frost Mountains."

"That's where we were headed after Dakarta!" Tee Tee piped in excitedly.

"Well then, consider your journey almost complete!" he grinned back at her.

Shivawn frowned curiously, "Why do they call you the Grim reaper?"

"I don't know but I'll tell you this, I sure am not the one looking grim when it's time for the reaping!"

He and Tee Tee burst into uncontrollable fits of wild laughter, the sound echoing all over the place.

"Gods, don't kill me Grim!" she giggled.

After what felt like years, the laughter finally died down.

Tee Tee turned to face Darius and Shivawn, "So I know Julie was a bit harsh in her trying to handle me but honestly, she saved our lives at the end there."

Darius frowned. "I'm sorry, please explain how exactly she did that? She killed us."

"It was the only way!" Tee Tee argued, "If she hadn't done so, the canoobis would have gotten us and they don't even kill – they just suck out what makes you you. You're basically dead but still alive – like a walking corpse. Would you have wanted that?"

Darius remained stoic while Shivawn shook his head lightly.

Killing you both was the only way to get you out of it.

Julie's words of earlier echoed in his head and he wondered if it was real or just a conjured up scene from his mind.

Shivawn sighed, "Dying is the scariest shit that has ever happened to me...especially when...when you're dying in front of someone you c-care about so much. You don't want to and yet you can't stop it."

Darius, feeling his heart squeeze at Shivawn's words unconsciously reached over to tangle their hands together, giving the other prince's hand a firm reassuring squeeze with his own. Shivawn glanced at him from beneath his eyelashes, blushing a little at the action.

"So, both of you been dating long?" the reaper asked cheerfully.

Tee Tee giggled and punched the reaper playfully in his arm, "Don't be so blunt about it! They don't like to acknowledge their love in public."

"Ugh, we're friends," Darius grumbled in annoyance, removing his hand from Shivawn's and folding them angrily across his chest.

Shivawn couldn't quite mask the hurt that flittered over his features as Darius pulled his hand away, feeling his chest ache. Why did those words suddenly hurt him? It's not like Darius was lying or anything – they really were friends – so why did the words hurt like a mother fucker?

Tee Tee noticed the look on his face and eyed him with sympathy but he ignored her, choosing to glare at the clear, blue water instead. Despite it being unusually still all around them, Shivawn couldn't help but admit that it was all strangely beautiful; the clear blue water, the pure white sky and the bright yellow sun in the distance. Granted, it was weird, but it was all bizarrely lovely in some way.

There was a comfortable silence as the boat moved along the still waters; the only sound was the paddle rhythmically hitting the water to propel the canoe forward. Soon, Shivawn found himself nodding off. He tried to stay awake but his vision got hazy and before he knew it, he was plunged into a dreamless sleep.

When he woke up, what felt like hours later, he was curled up against a familiar warm body, soft blankets tousled all around them. The gentle rocking of the ground told Shivawn that they were still in the canoe with the Grim Reaper. He blinked a few times to remove the grogginess from his eyes before slowly sitting up to take in his surroundings.

He frowned when he realized he was no longer in the beautiful blue sea but now in a dark and dreary sea, the sky around him was filled with dark, unfriendly clouds and the sun was nowhere in sight. Another thing he noticed was that he and Darius were alone in the boat.

Feeling his alarm rising, he quickly nudged the other prince in his ribs. Darius groaned and rolled over so he was lying on his stomach, about to go back to sleep. Shivawn nudged him harder and he groaned sleepily, "What?"

"Tee Tee and the Grim Reaper are gone," he whispered urgently and Darius quickly sat up, looking around them.

Sure enough, they were the only two in the canoe which was steadily moving on the flowing stream beneath them.

"Where are we?" Shivawn asked reluctantly, unconsciously reaching over for Darius's hand, who immediately held his tightly.

"I don't know," Darius whispered. "Is this supposed to be the river of lost souls?"

Shivawn shrugged in response and leaned over to glance tentatively at the dark, murky waters below. The sight of the ghostly face – a face that was definitely not his – staring back at him made him scream and jump back into the canoe, nearly making it tumble in his haste to get away.

Darius reached for him and cradled him close, "What?" he asked worriedly, "What is it?"

"A f-face," he stuttered and then cleared his throat, trying to stop his shaking, "There was a face in the water."

Darius frowned, and then moved to the edge of the canoe, glancing down. His heart nearly leaped out of his chest at the sight of the pale, ghostly face, staring up at him. As he lingered, more and more ghostly faces appeared in the water, making his eyes go wide and his fear increase to dramatic heights. He held Shivawn tightly to his side and shifted safely back to the middle of the boat, whispering huskily, "Don't look in the water."

Shivawn hugged him tightly, burying his face in Darius's chest and whispering, "There's more than one, isn't there?"

Darius remained silent.

Then the canoe slowly began to rock – back and forth, back and forth in a slow, hypnotizing rhythm.

"Darius, what's happening?" Shivawn asked.

"I don't know," Darius whispered back, trying to keep his own fear out of his voice. "Put your shield up, Lily."

Shivawn complied and rose his magic shield up. The rocking stopped for a second, before it was back again with full force. It seemed that the souls inside the water were trying to topple the boat, and with that realization, Shivawn hugged Darius tightly, trying to get his bearings. He screamed a little when one edge of the boat suddenly lifted out of the water, heading to the sky.

He and Darius reflexively grabbed for the bench beneath them, holding on for dear life as the boat stood vertical in the air, their legs dangling over the side.

Shivawn helplessly glanced down, spotting several ghostly faces in the water with bared teeth and eerie smiles. The ghostly bodies swam to the boat and touched it lightly and with just that light touch, the princes lost their grip and fell.

Shivawn closed his eyes and reached out reflexively to grab onto Darius as they probably fell to an untimely death.

But instead of landing in a body of water and being swarmed by chilly ghosts, they found themselves back upright and sitting on the bench. Shivawn opened his eyes, still clutching onto Darius's shirt, at the sound of wild laughter.

"Priceless!" Grim laughed. "Oh my god, the faces you make, Vilerian, I can't!" he laughed.

Darius glared. "You did that on purpose?"

"Obviously," Tee Tee giggled, wiping an imaginary tear from underneath her eyelid, "you guys are so much fun to toy with. I was expecting a kiss or something from you, Darius. And maybe a dramatic, 'don't worry, Lily, we'll be okay.'"

The two culprits burst out laughing, clutching their stomachs.

"It wasn't funny," Darius said, pissed off beyond measure.

Shivawn was also pissed that they would mess with his emotions like that, and he refused to look at Tee Tee or Grim, settling on looking at a spot in the once again clear blue water beneath the canoe. He'd literally just died, could he catch a damn break?

When Tee Tee was done with her laughter, she tried to apologize.

"I'm sorry, guys!" she giggled but she obviously wasn't that sorry from the way she sounded.

"Apology acknowledged but not accepted," Shivawn said, still not looking at her. "When can we get out of here please? I'm tired of having my emotions fucked with."

Tee Tee winced at the curse, unused to hearing such profanity leave Shivawn's lips. He really must be pissed. She felt a pang of regret.

"I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean to."

"Are you sure you're eighteen? Because sometimes you behave like you're an actual six year old," Darius said, also not looking at her.

Tee Tee bristled, but her shoulders drooped, scolded. Soon, she was sincerely apologizing from the bottom of her little heart but the princes still didn't budge.

"Come on, she's sorry," Grim tried to reason.

Shivawn gave him a sharp glare that made him immediately reach for his hood to hide his face.

"Shivawn? Darius?" Tee Tee asked hopefully but they still didn't answer her. She curled her legs into her chest, feeling bad.

Shivawn finally turned to face her, "Playing with people's emotions like that isn't funny, Tee Whyte Tee. I could say the same for you, Mr. Grim. Reaper. Whatever-the-hell they call you around these parts."

Tee Tee flinched at the firm tone in his voice, feeling like a scolded child, "I promise I won't do it again," she said, "I'm sorry. I really am."

"Thank you for your apology. I'm still angry with you, and I can't look at your face right now."

"Okay," Tee Tee said sadly.

The Grim Reaper cleared his throat. "I guess I'm sorry too."

"You guess?" Shivawn raised an eyebrow.

Jeez, where did this suddenly dominant Shivawn appear from? Darius wondered. He refused to ponder why he found it so damn attractive.

"Fine. I'm sorry," the Grim Reaper corrected.

"Noted."

The Grim Reaper pursed his lips at the barely-there acknowledgement. Darius tried not to laugh.

The boat moved in a tense silence with Shivawn staring at the clear blue water. The atmosphere soon changed and he looked up when he saw that they were entering a mist.

"I'm really tired of these mists," Darius said, voicing Shivawn's thoughts and the four of them managed small laughs.

"Well, you're about to see the Grim Reaper in action," the reaper said proudly, "There's going to be a whirlpool some way from here. When you see it, jump in it and it'll lead you to your next destination, got it?"

The three of them nodded and then the reaper lifted his paddle out of the water, the equipment instantly changing into his scythe. He pretended to bow to them before placing his scythe in front of him and holding it firmly to the floor in both his hands, the hands clasped tightly together. Even though his hood was up, Shivawn could see his eyes underneath his hood start to glow a bright white. It was a bit scary if Shivawn didn't already know the reaper for his humour and surprisingly bright outlook on life.

Immediately, what seemed like balls of white light began floating up and down from the water to the sky and vice versa.

"Souls," Tee Tee explained as Shivawn eyed the white balls curiously, "the ones going up are going to be born again, you know, reincarnation and stuff. The ones coming down are the ones the reaper has reaped."

"Wow, he's fast," Shivawn said, noting the multitude of white balls floating down into the water.

"Well people die every second. People are also born every second, it's the unending cycle of life," Tee Tee beamed, happy to share what knowledge she knew about the place.

"There's where we get off," Darius said pointing in front to show the giant whirlpool ahead of them.

"How about Grim?" Tee Tee said a bit forlornly, glancing at his still figure, "I want to say goodbye."

The boat was fast approaching the whirlpool and the reaper was showing no signs of coming out of his trance as he stood on the boat with his eyes eerily glowing out of his hood, hands clasped tightly around his scythe.

Shivawn understood her need to say goodbye, even though it was a really short space of time, he had come to really like the Grim Reaper. The man was a lot different than the world portrayed him to be.

The boat was now curving around the whirlpool.

"Tee Tee, we have to go," Shivawn said reluctantly.

Tee Tee sighed and moved up to her friend, placing a hand on his, "I'll miss you."

Shivawn could have sworn he saw a bright white tear slide down one of the glowing eyes underneath the black hood and a finger twitched. Tee Tee smiled sadly at him and then clasped Shivawn's hand in hers, while Shivawn held Darius's hand in his.

Shivawn's last thought as they jumped into the swirling water below was that it had better not be another trick of Tee Tee and the reaper or he would be ignoring Tee Tee for the rest of their journey.