Chapter 4: The Cost of Desire

Years passed, and the young man continued to use his gift of healing to help others. He became known as the most skilled physician in the land, and many people came to him for help.

One day, the king's daughter fell ill and the king sent for the young man to come and heal her. The young man was hesitant at first, knowing that Death would be there and that the princess's fate had already been sealed.

But when he saw the princess, he was struck by her beauty and he knew that he could not let her die without trying to save her. He remembered the love and care that her father had shown him and how he had promised to cure her. He couldn't let the king down, not after all he had done for him. He knew that he had to try to save her, no matter the cost. He carefully prepared the special herb that Death had taught him to make, and as he fed it to her, he turned her bed so that Death stood at her head.

As he watched her, he couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He couldn't believe that he had the chance to be her husband, to be the king of the land, to have wealth and power beyond his wildest dreams. His mind was filled with thoughts of a life with her, of being able to care for her, to protect her, to love her. He knew that he had to do everything in his power to save her, even if it meant going against Death's rules.

He was so captivated by the princess's beauty and thoughts of being her husband that he completely ignored Death's presence, and focused on saving her. He knew that if he could save her, he would have everything he had ever wanted in life. He knew that he had to take the chance, no matter what the cost.

The princess began to recover and soon made a full recovery. The king was overjoyed and kept his promise, offering his daughter's hand in marriage and the inheritance of the crown. But the physician knew that he had disobeyed Death once again and cheated him of his due. He was filled with guilt and fear, knowing that Death could take his life for his disobedience.

Just as the princess was coming around, Death grasped the physician by the arm and dragged him to a cavern. In this cave were thousands of candles, each burned down to different lengths. Death explained that the length of each candle shows how much longer a person has to live.

Death walked the physician to his candle, and it was very short, suggesting that the physician did not have much longer to live. The physician was filled with despair and begged Death to light him a new candle, so that he may live a happy life as king and husband to the beautiful princess.

But Death was unyielding, "For another candle to be lit, one has to go out." the physician walked towards the candle of his child and tries to move it to his own, but Death stops him "You once looked for the most righteous one to be the godfather of your child, but at the Bed of Death you betrayed that and instead grasped for the life of another."