The Demon’s Bride

When it was lunch time, Elise who finished taking care of the creepers that had outgrown to the castle's wall, walked down from the stairs, wiping her sweats and thought to hurry to take her lunch when he saw Maroon coming off from the housekeeper's room. His expression was unpleasant and there was a distaste on his lips that he hadn't wiped off after leaving the room.

Elise caught from the corner of her eyes how there were maids in the rooms and some were sobbing from tears.

"What is it that stalling you here?" Maroon spoke and Elise was taken aback by his sharp words. His eyes looking at her didn't turn gentle but she could tell it had became milder compared to the time he left the room.

With nothing to say, she replied, "I'm sorry..." her body bend to see enveloped stacked on his hands. "Is that envelope that would be sent to the post office?" questioned Elise and her question had Maroon to raise his eyebrow.

"It is the envelopes from the maid and the Lord. Every maid's are schedule to sent envelope every Thursday," explained Maroon and his expression was still somewhere angry. "You don't know this?"

"I do not." She wasn't told by anyone and perhaps no one would want to speak to her. Elise wasn't blind and she could see well the fear other maids shown when she walked passed by them. Some times there was fear she saw and worse were a look of disgust. Thinking about it makes Elise want to sigh. "Can you please wait a moment sir, I have a letter to be sent. I will come back fast," she added to persuade the butler whose eyes were keenly looking down at her.

"In a light speed," agreed Maroon and Elise took off from the place to come back with a letter on her hand and she passed the letter to Maroon whose expression was still reading over the envelope.

In the corner right was, 'To Edward Harland'. Maroon's expression turned but he didn't spoke of anything and coldly turn his back to walk on his way.

Seeing the butler went, Elise looked down on her hands, finding grim had come on her which smeared from the time she cleaned the wall. With Mister John's death, the garden was still yet to have a gardener and as Elise had taken care of the garden since Mister John's disappearance, she continued to be assigned there.

When she was wiping her hands the sound of cry came bellow her. Elise turned her eyes, wondering how could there be a cat when she saw the large cat that grinned at her. "Elise, my dearest!" The cat spoke, "Did you see a chick somewhere around here?" questioned Austin who was now speaking with his cat form. His paws lightly rubbed his nose as he walked beside Elise.

"By chick do you mean Hallow?" questioned Elise with a worried look.

"The chick has a name?" Austin stopped and his head inclined with a confused look. "You know it was very fun for me to chase the chick, it ran every time and I didn't manage to catch him but then he spoke and cursed at me, by speak I mean in human's language. What a very amusing chick. I heard of werecats like me or werewolf but never a werechick. I didn't know that was your friend, tell me sorry later."

Elise could tell that Austin didn't mean the sorry he said. "Hallow isn't only my friend he is a grim reaper. Didn't Master Ian told you this?" Because Austin work under Master Ian, he should know of this.

"What? That is a grim reaper in that adorable body? Hell, am I going to be killed later," Austin shook his head, "Anyways, did you see Cynthia. I was on my way to meet her but then I saw the chick- I mean the grim reaper and couldn't resist my nature to chase him. I left my clothes somewhere. If I change to a human now I will be naked. Maybe it would be a good view for the maids but I don't want to flaunt my beauty."

"I didn't see her, maybe she is in her room?" replied Elise. She wondered if Hallow was doing alright now, somewhere she felt worried because Hallow's body was as small as her palm if he was to be stepped on he would end up with a wound, thought Elise and she shook her head, thinking how painful it would be if the chick was stepped by someone.

"I searched there but she isn't there," sighed Austin with a solemn expression, "She wasn't looking good after seeing another case that maybe had a trace of dark sorcerers."

"Was Cynthia attacked by a dark sorcerer?" asked Elise with a frown she pulled with worry. She had heard of how dangerous the job Austin and Cynthia took. To become the Lord's aide they have to take cases where their life could be on stake.

"No, she was fine. She is a strong woman you know, sometimes even stronger than me but the memories are what paining her," Austin looked outside the window, stopping to stare at his own cat reflection, "Her family was killed in a very horrid way by the dark sorcerers she is have a very deep rooted hatred inside her that worsen when she took cases of dark sorcerers. Somewhere the anger must be burdening her."

"I don't know about that." Elise didn't know Cynthia had lost her family to the hands of dark sorcerers. Was it why she was very sympathetic to her? Elise thought of the anger she had against dark sorcerers and found herself thinking that somewhere they were the same. But too much anger would cloud one's mind where their judgement would become contaminated with hatred that drives them. Elise hope it wouldn't happen to Cynthia.

"Not everyone want to tell their darkest past but I think Cynthia didn't want to tell about her past to you because she didn't want you to feel sad. I will be going here to change my clothes. See you." Elise saw Austin the cat padded away from the spot with four legs and she brought her hands to her arms.

Turning her face, she saw the large window and went to pull the curtain slightly to place her hand on the surface of the glass. It had been a week more after her letter that she had been accepted to the Church and it make Elise wonder when will the next test commence.

Her mind then went to think about Cynthia. The woman had always been one of the closest person to her as they have known each other since she was young; just like Ian, Austin, and Mila. She felt her heart ache for Cynthia and the memory of her family, filled her mind.

The anger she kept in her heart turn stronger as she continued to stare into nothingness while the scene of death played in her mind. The surface of glass turn hazy with vapor. The winter in Wariness was colder than any other land but the time hadn't come when the glass would turn hazy from coldness. But bellow Elise's hand, the vapor start to emerge wider.

Elise whose mind was in a daze, stared at the glass without noticing what she had done. Her blue eyes turn darker in color as time passes and vapor that started at the size of her palm spread wide to cover the entire window, reaching to the corner s and a crack appeared bellow her palm.

With a light push of her fingers, the glass shattered, falling down toward her direction like a rain. It took a moment for Elise to notice how shards of glass hailing above her. In panic, Elise close her eyes without knowing from afar a sound of footsteps had come.

It took a long one minutes for Elise to braven herself and open her eyes. Right against her eyes were glass sharp enough to stab her stopped across her face.

"What are you doing?"

It was Ian who was making his way with his fierce red eyes squint as he furrowed his brows. There was a tone on his face which was sharp to make Elise flinched on her spot. Ian raised his hand, swiping it to the right for all glass shards to shift to the garden outside the castle.

Ian walked toward her, stopping and she felt his shadow towering over her. "Did you break the glass?" asked Ian, his expression gouging the surprised look that flitted over Elise's face.

"I didn't..." Elise drawled, lost in words to the sound of her heartbeat that drummed in her chest. Her mind was chaotic and somewhere she felt a part of her heart numb with her heart that stopped beating for a second.

What had just happened? A sudden pain stung the right side of her head and she raised her hand to place it over her head where she felt the pain. The action was enough to alarm Ian to walk nearer to her side and bent down to carry her on his hands. "I-"

"If you are going to tell me to stop, you should remember there is nothing that could stop me," Ian's intense red eyes stopped at her blue eyes to notice the color of her eyes had somewhere turned darker, "especially not when you are harmed."

The two immediately left the place without noticing the glass shards which had been thrown to the garden slowly crumbled to a finer partial as if it had turned to sparkly dusts. The dust continued to glimmer but once a minute passed, the color turn dull no the particles became ashes. When the wind blew over, the ashes that were on the ground had disappeared.

P.S. Just a reminder Elise's power is not to break things.