Everyone was gathered around the coffee table in the living room, and all were quiet. Not one of the nine people said anything, afraid to break the uncomfortable silence. Suddenly, Richard, who was normally so level-headed, shot to his feet.

“What the hell are you thinking?” He cried out in outrage at what Margaret had just told them. “You can’t be doing this!” Margaret’s only response was to hang her head lower than it already was, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Paige stood then and placed a calming hand on Richard’s shoulder. When he had settled back into his seat, Paige turned to her long-time friend. “Why?” she asked quietly.

Margaret did not look up, but instead managed to whisper a muttered excuse through her tear-swollen throat.

“I love him.”

Chandler spoke this time, his blue eyes reflecting a deep sadness. “But we love you too. We don’t want you to leave us. You were the one who told us we were supposed to stick together in the fist place. And now you want to give up everything for some guy?” Chandler’s wife, Rosemary, cut him off before he could continue.

“I think that what he’s trying to say is that we all want you to be happy, but do you have to give this up? This chance to change the world?”

Margaret lifted her head to this, her gray eyes sparking with barely controlled outrage. “None of you have ever had the decision I have to make. You all have fallen in love with each other.” She glared at Chandler and Rosemary, their hands entwined as they sat next to each other. “You never had to deal with the idea of losing your immortality in order to be with someone.” Her attention now focused on Richard and Paige, their new wedding bands glimmering in the sun streaming into the room. “None of you have ever even tried to look for love outside of our group. We have had eternity to find the one we belong with, and Derek and I have found each other. How can you deny me my taste of your happiness?”

She stood swiftly and stormed out the door, slamming the portal behind her. All of the remaining people flinched at the sound, and sat slightly ashamed as they heard the sound of Margaret starting her car and speeding away.

A prolonged moment of silence followed, and once more no one cared to shatter the void that encompassed them all. It was then that Aiolos lifted his head from where it had rested on his fist, deep in contemplation.

“I’m going to do this for her.”

“You can’t mean that!” Richard nearly screamed in rage and frustration

“Of course I can. I can also inform you that none of you can control what Margaret does, or wants to do. I would think that after World War Two that you would understand free will better than this.”

“I was going to tell her I was okay with her doing this before she tromped out. I’m not going to make her miserable just to make me happy. And it’s not like she’ll die tomorrow. She’s what, twenty five?” John chimed in from his position on an ottoman.

“Why is this Derek person making her give this up? Why won’t he join us?” Richard grumbled. Peter, who sat next to his father, Aiolos, answered for him.

“The way that this whole thing has been explained to me is that Derek is terrified by the thought of living forever. The idea of him leaving behind everyone and everything he ever knew is too much for him. Or at least that’s the gist of what Margaret tried to tell us between you and Chandler yelling at her.”

Richard sat back in the armchair he had chosen for himself. “We were able to give it up though. The transition was just as difficult for us.”

Aiolos shook his graying head. “When I first met you all, you were a group of destitute, rag-tag nobodies who had nothing left to lose. Most of you had lost you families in one way or the other, and all of you had been sentenced to die. Derek has a family that loves him, so far as we know, a means of existence, and nothing is threatening him in the same way that you were. The situations are nothing alike, for Derek… he would be severed from a good life. For you, it was a saving grace from a life that I would wish upon no one.” He smiled a little, though his eyes had become misty, “I’m really just surprised that she hasn’t asked for this sooner.”

Gunivere shook herself from the stupor that she had stated to fall into. “Why do you say that? She never seemed unhappy before.”

“She has been cutting herself for decades; much longer than anything the rest of us have tried. She has been despondent since the turn of the century. I didn’t want to tell anyone about it; it just never seemed to affect her until recently. There are times when I wish I didn’t have my powers either.”

“Why?” Guinevere asked in a small voice.

“Knowing everything sucks.” She replied, shrugging a shoulder.

Aiolos raised his hand then, staving off further conversation, “It would seem that most of us can agree that while we may not agree with Margaret’s decision, we can at least accept that this is what would make her happy.” All nodded, and Aiolos stood. “Then I fail to see what the issue is. Though I will say, I’m going to miss her, she’s really who you have to thank for saving your lives. If I had never met her, I would never have thought of using those spells.”