The Demon’s Bride

Lady Eleanor Brown was a human with an exceptionally beautiful face according to human standards. He had felt since the first time they met in the ball that Milton Brown's daughter had kept her delicate eyes on him. He had bluntly rejected having any relation with women that have romantic feeling to him as breaking up a relationship would only lead to more trouble with lingering feeling around. Especially to humans who he could never have a feeling for.

Maroon walked back after placing the scalding teapot on the serving trolly to ask. "The party would be held the day after tomorrow, would you be attending, my lord?"

"Milton Brown is a good connection for the merchant's road, I'll attend for now." Maroon received his words with a nod and excuse himself as he had finished his work.

Propping his head on one hand after the leave of his aide. He continued with his work after a sip of the warm tea.

Days passed again and time for Elise to meet with Ian didn't come. The only time when she met Ian was often could be count as only passing by on their intersected path.

Nightfall came, moon hanged again on the sky as it brought the cold night for the people in Warine Land. Not far from the White's Mansion, a blue creature crawled and come to a stop wearily to hid in the bushes. The blue being had a face of an old woman. Her skin was pigmented in blue color, dry and horrifyingly ugly, and half of her face was asymmetrical. With white hair covering her cracking dry scald, she gave a smile that showed her yellowish corroded teeth to wrinkle her blue skin.

When she walked over to the bushes, eye on the house with her small black pupils, droll came out from her mouth. It was a mythical being called Black Annis, a being that loved to eat a human child and collect their skull as their trophy.

Beside her, a fellow Black Annis played with her long fingernails that had formed together with her fingers, sharp like a claw with traces of blood in them climbed up to the three nimbly. 

The Black Annis that came to sneak a peek in the bushes was named Debora. The latter one on the tree was named Georgia.

"Is The Sweet Child here?" A sharp chilling voice came from Debora's lips, every time she opened her mouth, droll came to make his voice gibberish. 

"She's here" Georgia jumped down from the tree and walked with her arced back. "I saw it with my own two eyes when the Sulixs took her to the forest, she smelled very delicious. She's small but we can divide her half for you and me." As the continued to talk, her words became harder to hear.

"How we will take her out?" Debora asked and heard her friend chuckling from the side. "The Demon would be out soon to the human's land. I heard it from the eyes."

"But I doubt it would be that easy. I heard that the mansion had a very strong magical barrier, how could we step inside without being killed?"

Georgia chuckled in a twisted screeching sound. "Don't worry, about that matter. I met someone who could help us with that."

Debora rose her eyebrows skeptically. "Really?"

Georgia turned her eyes, staring at her with her grin still plastered to her hideous face. "Do you doubt me? Would there be anything good in trapping you to death?"

Hearing her persuasion, Debora mulled a little. As the head of the Black Annises, she had growing power and it could be something feisty to other lower creature. However, Georgia had he own luxury for working with dark sorcerer thus taking her place as the leader wouldn't matter much to her. Instead it would only be burdensome to someone like her. It was also a good chance. There was a very old saying to creatures of the sweet child. One who could eat the sweet child, they could obtained an everlasting life. It was enough merit to Debora's eyes that her eyes turned red from the imagination.

"Alright then." Debora agreed, twisting the corner of her lips to her ears. "Let's take her out. I can't wait to eat her and collect her skulls." The corner of her lips widely lifted up to her ears, her eyes narrowed in delight then she screamed out with a loud creepy laughter. Night crying out with the eerie laughter that the Debora gave out. 

One day on a bright afternoon, Elise played with Aryl in the garden with Austin in his human form and Cerberus who had been named by Elise as Curly. When she named the Cerberus, Cynthia and Austin had a mixed emotion and noted that Elise had a bad sense of naming her pets. Before, when she first saw Austin in his cat form, she began on calling him Goldie until Austin showed himself turning into a cat in front of her.

"Cynthia, the Lord is calling you." Suddenly a maid that wasn't Mila named Helena called Cynthia for a moment, taking Elise's attention from the game she was playing with Aryl.

Cynthia stood beside Elise and dust off her clothes. "The Lord? Where is he now?"

"The entrance," Helena glanced once at Elise and asked, "should I take the shift for watching the girl? 

Cynthia paused and shook her head, "No need, you can go first I will come." Elise stopped her game of tag with Aryl and Cerberus to see Cynthia bending down to her level. 

"Elise, the Lord is going to leave, do you want to come with me?" 

Elise remembered the best flower ring that she made after a few errors and trials with Aryl. Taking it out from her dress pocket, Elise nodded softly. "I do."

Cynthia couldn't stop the corner of her lips crinkling to a warm smile from Elise's adorable behavior and stood up. "Let's link our hands, Elise." 

Elise reached out her short hands to hold Cynthia's hand and strolled to the entrance where she led with Austin and Cerberus followed from behind. 

"Where's the Lord going to?" Austin asked.

"To the Human's Land, Mr. brown that I've told you before gave another invitation again." 

"What a stubborn old man. Does usually human lived that way?" Elise heard Austin's words in a little bewilderment. 

"Beats me, but they did say humans are the greediest creature." Cynthia looked down at Elise and smiled, "but not every human is bad. I have seen good ones too and Mythical beings also aren't all gracious, some times they are far crueler than dark sorcerers." At the end of her words, Cynthia's eyes turned brutal.

Hearing the words, Elise tugged Cynthia's dress gently and wondered. "Dark sorcerer? Are they different than normal sorcerer?" She asked from the side, having her interest piqued by the name as Ian was also a sorcerer. 

"They are far different," Austin replied, scratching his itching nose for a moment. "Dark sorcerers are cold-blooded, be it humans or mythical beings they only care about themself and view the others as nothing than souls as a base of their power. They are very sly and never want to dirty their hands and always work with their cunning schemes-"

Elise looked up at Cynthia's face that has the same abhorrent as Austin toward the dark sorcerers. "-making mythical beings in their rage mode with their dark magic and left them to beserk in town to take lives. That had always been the way they work." Austin further elaborated.  

As they spoke, they have arrived at the entrance. Ian standing with maids around him, passing the coats as the winter season has started early that year. Noticing Cynthia from behind, he snapped his red eyes to spot the small puppy beside them. 

"What can I do for you, my Lord?" Cynthia asked, stopping her feet in front of the Warine Lord. 

Ian shifted his eyes from Elise. "You will come to attend the evening party with me and Austin-" 

Austin heard the Lord calling and stopped gaping his mouth to yawn awkwardly. "-protect the girl. The banshees are going active again. This puppy attracts many troublesome creatures so take good care of her."

Austin immediately bowed to receive the order. "Yes, my lord." 

Ian stared silently at them who didn't move and lifted his brow. "What else are you two waiting for?" 

"Ah-" Cynthia forgot that she was still doing nothing. Looking around, she released her hand gently from Elise and walked toward the carriage in haste. 

Ian didn't wait and went to trace his step toward the black carriage to feel a tug on his long velvet black coat. Turning his head, he found the little puppy and heaved his brows. "What is it, puppy? Do you want to come with me? Unfortunately, children cannot attend the evening party."

Elise shook her head vigorously. "No." She reached out her hand and spread her palm out for him to see. "For you."

Ian glanced down at the flower ring on her hand and took it. "What's this?"  

"Have you gone blind, demon? It's a flower ring." Aryl stuck out her tongue to mock him, but he wasn't in the mood to entertain her. 

He brushed off the little Sulix's bickering and bent his head. "Why are you giving this to me, little puppy?" 

Elise fiddled with her hand as she didn't know whether Ian liked it or not. The day when she broke his words by walking outside in the night made her uneasy. She had asked Aryl what to do to make someone happy while they were making the flower ring and Aryl gave her the idea to give the ring.

"For walking out at night, I'm sorry." Her voice sounded apologetic as she uttered the words. 

Ian saw her silently dropping her head and chuckled faintly. "As a girl, you shouldn't give rings to anyone easily to anyone. But this is quite better than the ones I have seen before." He placed his hand over her head and patted it a few times. "Great job but from now on you should never give rings or accept them either. Except it is from me." He looked down at her and grinned with mirth. 

Receiving the deserved praise Elise gave a wide warm smile, a smile that hadn't painted her delicate face for more than tens of years. Aryl who saw her smile for the first time felt that the Demon could actually do a good deed. 

"Lord Ian-" Maroon came from the side, catching his attention to remind him of the time. 

"I'll be going now. Play well." Ian excused himself briefly to the little girl, holding to the flower ring that he gave as he entered the black carriage. 

Austin being left alone to take care of Elise spoked to the little girl. "Let's go and play again, shall we?" He extended his arm and bend the right half of his body to walk while linking their hands.

Elise nodded and strolled again to the backyard. From behind a small black furry being curled up into a small yarn ball with one large black eyeball, in the middle called "the eyes" confirmed the absence of the Lord and went to report the Black Annis that hired him beforehand.

Rolling on the ground, he stopped in front of a beautiful woman. "Have the Demon came out?"