The Demon’s Bride

By the time she came back, Elise poured Hallow the cup of warm water he wanted. Taking the silver tea pot on her hand with a towel placed underneath the bottom of the pot, Elise walked inside her room to see Hallow standing before the ceramic cup which was always use for drinking tea that now had become his own bathtub.

Placing the hot water beside him she saw his small body moving around, "Be cautious Hallow, the water is extremely hot," she warned and Hallow nodded but he was too excited to take a bath after what had took place today that he could not help but to swing his bottom happily in a tune.

Elise left the place, taking the cold water to create the warm water by using the water from her bathtub to come back when Elise saw Hallow looking at the window. Bringing the cold water to the cup, she then added the warm water. Hallow didn't stop and he immediately got into the water, the water overfilled the cup and dropped outside the cup and before it could drench the cupboard, the saucer stored the water that was pushed out by his body.

"Elly, are you alright?" asked Hallow when Elise turned her body and she raised her eyebrow, looking confused at his words.

"Of course I am," she said with a smile that thanked Hallow for being concerned to her.

She then left the cupboard, walking to take the key of her room as she had locked it. The reason why Elise had locked the room was to prevent herself from walking in the night. She then moved to sit in front of Hallow, who reminds her a lot of her younger brother.

"Hallow, how did you become a grim reaper?" she questioned one of the questions that filled her mind since the time she met him.

The grim reaper's green eyes looked at her widely, he didn't say anything when soaking in the water until he come to say, "Every grim reaper died by suicide. Their soul was at unrest after their death and as they had died without following the proper time written in the book of death, heaven and hell doesn't accept them."

Elise looked surprised by the newfound information and she looked at Hallow who was not facing her as his head had turned to the window. "You don't have to feel pity to me. I may died out so suicide but I doubt I killed myself sadly. You know how I am and honestly, I don't remember how I died, apparently all grim reapers do not remember how they died or who they were in the past. The punishment given by heaven to people who took their own lives were to watch other's death, to see and learn why souls are precious under the watch of Death Angels."

"How do the Death Angels, look like?" she then asked as Hallow didn't seem to be liking the conversation but she didn't know if he was.

"They are tall, big, all dark, with bat wings, and face... I don't know how their face look like, they always were a veil covering their face. Their eyes were red but I am not sure as I met them only from afar and when I passed by them, we met eyes and I thought the color of their eyes were red. I saw them only once in my entire career as a grim reaper," and it would be the last thing he would ever do to meet Death Angels again. Hallow had seen it before, when Death Angel took the life of a grim reaper and he didn't want that to happen to him. "Once a grim reaper killed by a Death Angel, their soul is forever gone without any point to return."

"They sounds like a demon," replied Elise at the mention of the bat wings but Ian who was demon had a horn and a feathered wings. Was this normal?

"They are worse than a demon," corrected Hallow and his face looked in an absolute fear of the Death Angels that proofed just how much Grim Reaper do not want to come in contact with Death Angels. "You know Elly, I haven't been able to tell you this but from now on avoid people with green eyes," warned Hallow.

"Why green eyes?" she asked as Hallow sank deeper to the water.

"Because all grim reapers have green eyes. They can take a human's appearance and worse posses a human as it is one of their abilities than taking other's life but their green eyes can't betray who they are," stated Hallow, "If you find one, best avoid them. Not all humans who have green eyes are necessary a grim reaper but you have to be careful, I just have a feeling that you have to. You know, gut speaking," Hallow swung his wings at her.

Since when did he become attached to Elise? He didn't know it himself. All he knew was that he would be troubled without her if he continue to live in this house but then, there was no need for him to warn Elise about grim reapers. There was still that chance he has in his hands where he could run away from here and report the human girl whose ability was to see grim reaper, it could perhaps bailed him from getting killed by Death Angels. But honestly somewhere he had become attached by living here and inside Elise's pocket.

"Thank you," said Elise and Hallow looked at her with wide eyes.

"I... Don't thank me, I was only graceful enough to tell you this because I don't like grim reapers now," said Hallow, his yellow cheeks turning red but he refused to say that he felt happy from the thank Elise said.

"I know," Elise chuckled and she then look at the same window Hallow was staring at, "Hallow do you know about Demon?"

Elise was curious to know more about Ian. He was a demon but he said he had 'acquired' things that lead her to believe that maybe on the beginning, Ian was not a demon but had to become a demon. For what reason? questioned Elise to herself.

She wanted to know the answer as soon as possible and maybe she had become greedy by thinking so. She wished to learn more and everything about Ian which she didn't know yet.

"That they live in Hell, have wings, horns, red eyes, and grotesque figure exactly like how humans would usually carved stones to make it look like grimly. What's wrong?" How did Elise knew about Demon? Was it the Demon who lived on the floor above them who told her?

"I just learned that today I- Master Ian is a Demon," Elise hold the key to her room playing with it, the golden color was still clean on the key which was not made by gold but coated with gold paint.

"He is?" asked Hallow as if surprise when in truth he knew. "I don't know anything about demon. Well, I do learn a few things about demon from the knowledge book of grim reapers. I also heard some said that demons originated from hell but they were once the living being created in heaven who then placed in hell for evil things that they have done," replied Hallow.

It was not often that he shared others his knowledge because in the grim reaper's world, he constantly said to be the oddest of all for having thirst of knowledge. Not that he cared and he continued to study things from the library in Grim Reaper's world, but then suddenly came the accusation put to him. He felt frustrated at first but now with his life more peaceful than he could ever request, he felt the ease in the place and felt that doing anything would just be a pain in his butt.

Elise wondered what being was created in heaven but punished to hell. What mistake did they make in the past that could turn them to demon?

"But that is just a rumor," Hallow chided to add, "Everything written is not all the truth there is needed. I recalled my eldest senior of grim reaper told me this, all demons are made by God in order to keep a watch to sinners in hell. Which made more sense to me than thinking a heavenly being would be placed in hell because of a mistake. I mean, what mistake could one make in Heaven? There wasn't even knife there to kill and most heavenly being doesn't have a soul or mind to feel or think just like Death Angels."

Confused, but unable to hold her curiosity, Elise then ask, "Do you think a human could become a Demon?"

Hallow by the time stood suddenly on the bottom of the teacup his head looking at Elise with his back straightened, "That is not possible! Demon is demon, they are created by God. Human could be grim reaper if they killed themself but no matter what they do, a human cannot turn to demon," Hallow protested, thinking that it was weird and impossible. "But a human could meet Demon."

"They could meet demon?"

"Yes, I think some dark sorcerers know of this," said Hallow and Elise's hand which was holding the key tightened and a feeling of extreme discomfort came in her heart. "There are a forbidden spell that could be use to call demons. Some of them must know this but in order for one to call demon they need ritual and thousands of people's life."

"And for that they kill," answered Elise, her hand tightening and her brows were pulled tighter.

Hallow remember now, that Elise's family died on the hand of the dark sorcerers and he had brought up the matter again. Stupid him, if Elly cries that Demon who love above the, would know and his head wouldn't be on his yellow body again. "I finished with my bath," said Hallow, jumping from the cup he walked toward the small towel which Elise knitted for him.

"Don't catch a cold and immediately go to bed," said Elise like the way she spoke to William as Hallow reminded her very much to her dearest younger brother. She placed the key in her hand to the cupboard, breathing out to not feel angry, she then took the glass when Hallow who had taken his clothes look at the key placed near him and his eyes widened.

"Elise, what happen to the key of your room? It's uglily rusted!" Hallow yelled, it was not a normal rusted key. The edges turned bright orangish brown and there was the rough feeling on the surface when he touched the key.

Elise who was surprised, stopped herself from cleaning the cup, her eyes then look and taking the key, it was indeed had been rusted. But it was not rusted before... It was clean and gleaming in gold color before. What happened?

"Did you place the key around water?" questioned Hallow curiously. "Usually water and air turn substances like the key to become rusted."

"No I didn't, the key had always been in my pocket and it was clean a moment ago," a key could not get rusted in a matter of second after being under her hand, would it? Elise took the key to her pocket, deciding to tell Ian tomorrow of how the key could suddenly turn to be rusted when it was not before.