Alther dies.

He dies, and his last thoughts are of Marcia, who's parents are gone, who is like his own child.

He is leaving her alone forever, Alther realizes. If Marcia makes it out of here, which he desperately hopes she will, she will be alone. He passes her the Amulet, tells her that she is the best one for the job, and, tells her he is proud.

Alther drops on to the ground, hating the way that Marcia sobs, and pushes her towards the Queen, and the little baby princess who lays in her dead mum's arms, crying. "Go," Alther whispers, as he slips away into the abyss.

Alther woke, blinking, and stared out into the darkness. He raised a hand, and saw it only by its own faint glow. He was a ghost, Alther realized.

Ghosts were not unheard of in the Castle, but they were rare and unknown. A Ghost could watch forever, he knew from those who had bonded to them. But in order to see a ghost, it had to choose you. They could only choose one person at a time, and would be until that person's death.

With an errant thought, Alther found himself in the Castle, and in his old rooms- Marcia's rooms now. There she was, sleeping peacefully while he watched. There was a calendar on her bedstand, it showed something Alther was astonished by.

It had been a Year and a Day since the attack, since he had died, and his daughter (not in name, but in heart, which was enough,) was sleeping in her old room. The extraordinary Aprenitice room was small, and even though she had continued to use it after she had completed her apprenticeship, Marcia really should have changed rooms by now. Goodness knows Alther had. Although, he thought, the situations were very different.

A Year and a Day, he mused. She had to have moved on by now, or at least Alther certainly hoped so. Marcia had always bottled her emotions, and it wouldn't surprise him if she was doing the same now.

Marcia woke suddenly, and Alther backed away quickly, forgetting she could not see him, and stammered out an apology. Marcia did not respond, and Alther floated, which was quite enjoyable, actually, towards the kitchen to wait.

But when he entered, the teapot, the stove, all of Marcia's temperamental appliances, responded to him. Alther smiled at the familiar sight and had an idea. He told the kettle to start boiling, and the stove to light and begin frying Marcia an egg.

She walked in, and smiled, before bursting into tears. Oh Dear.

Then Alther remembered. He had done this for her so many times, it was almost habit. But for Marcia, it had been over a year since this happened. However dead, and out of touch, and old Alther was, he knew Marcia. He was hitting himself for having gone and reminded herself of something she had lost, him.

Then Marcia composed herself, and ate the eggs, smiling wistfully. Alther could see she was hurting, but he knew she had also accepted his loss.

Alther had come with the intention of showing himself, of helping Marcia through life the way she had helped him find himself. But looking at her now, Alther thought that he would wait. She was mourning, appearing now would only add insult to her injury. She would never be able to mourn properly, and he could tell Marcia was doing as well as she could be in the moment.

Perhaps if Alther had been able to appear sooner, or if Marcia had been expecting him, his choice would have been different.

Now, he resolved himself to his life of ghosthood. He would wait for those he loved, and make sure that none of them became too overwhelmed. If he needed to, Alther would show himself. He could affect his surroundings a bit, he would be Marcia's and Alice Nettle's and Silas's guardian ghost, and keep watch over them until it was no longer necessary.

Sad but resolved, Alther floated off to visit with the hundreds of ghosts he had never met, and to check on his beloved, and on Silas and his family. He was, for the moment, content with being an unseen force of good until he could be one no longer.

Notes: Thanks so much for reading! LMK what you thought in the comments! Do you like the premise?